European elections: develop EU energy storage strategy
European elections will take place from June 6 to 9. Energy Storage NL (ESNL) and EASE, the umbrella organization for the Energy Storage Sector to which ESNL is affiliated, are calling on European political parties to work to accelerate the development, implementation and scaling up of energy storage in the European Union.
In doing so, Energy Storage NL specifically calls attention to:
- European energy storage target: Developing a European objective for energy storage is seen as necessary to give direction to the development of storage within the European Union. Setting this objective provides certainty and direction to various member states, investors and to other stakeholders.
- Harmonization of storage policies between member states: different member states use various measures to encourage storage within member states. This creates an uneven playing field between member states, think for example of the (partial) exemption on transport tariffs in some EU countries. This was also recently the subject of a motion tabled in the House of Representatives calling for harmonization of transportation tariffs within Europe.
- Anchor recommendations around energy storage: last year, the European Commission ten recommendations made for accelerating the deployment of energy storage in the EU. Among other things, these recommendations call on member states to identify their flexibility needs, publish detailed real-time grid congestion data, and establish specific support schemes that guide innovative energy storage technologies to the commercialization phase. These recommendations should be translated into policy making them mandatory for member states.
All this makes for a better European strategy around energy storage, where this strategy not only ensures that climate goals are achieved, but also ensures energy security, reduces energy bills and improves the competitiveness of industries in Europe. Moreover, the development of innovative energy storage technology offers opportunities for a strong European manufacturing industry.
Before the European elections, EASE also wrote a manifesto with six recommendations. This is here read back.
