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Almost 85GW of battery storage projects are now operational, under construction, consented or in planning or development, according to the latest figures from Renewable UK.
The trade body said the pipeline has swelled by more than two-thirds over last year from 50.3GW to 84.8GW.
This includes 3.5GW of operational battery storage and 3.8GW that is under construction. A further 24.5GW of projects are consented and 27.4GW are currently seeking planning permission. There are also 25.7GW of projects in pre-planning development.
Renewable UK said England accounts for around 50.8GW (60%) of the overall pipeline, including almost 2.9GW of operational battery storage, whilst Scotland accounts for 29.5GW (35%).
The association additionally noted a continuing shift towards larger projects, with the average size of projects being submitted into the planning system over the last year rising to 80MW – up from 54MW in 2021.
Renewable UK’s director of future electricity systems, Barnaby Wharton, said: “It’s great to see that our battery storage pipeline has grown by over-two-thirds over the last year, as this demonstrates that there’s a huge appetite among investors to enter this rapidly growing market.
“This puts us well on track to delivering the 30GW of flexibility which the government says we will need by 2030 to ensure electricity supply always meets demand. Getting viable projects connected to the grid is a priority, and industry has welcomed progress on reforming the connections process.”
He added: “While the battery market is booming, we need investment in even larger projects to store energy for longer, unlocking further opportunities for us to scale up this cutting-edge technology. We’re still waiting for the government to confirm how they will stabilise revenues for long duration projects.”
Earlier this month, the Energy Networks Association revealed that battery storage projects accounted for 29% – or 159GW – of the connection queue for the power grid as of September.
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