Tuesday 21 March 2023 9:00am to 5:30pm
Institution of Mechanical Engineers (IMechE) 1 Birdcage Walk London SW1H 9JJ
About
This event explores why policies around energy storage and the other flexibility technologies are less developed than they might be.
The need for Net Zero is clear to most. The “Energy Sector” is not the only contributor to man-made greenhouse gas emissions but ultimately it is the way that we use energy that dominates these emissions.
Low/zero carbon generation such as wind turbines, PV panels, nuclear power, natural hydro and related renewable-energy generators are clearly essential to our transition to net zero emissions. This was recognised early and put incentives in place that have been hugely successful in driving down generation costs, shortening project timescales and eliciting private investment. The UK’s CfD has been a particularly noteworthy success.
As the penetration of low-carbon generation rises in the electricity system, a different challenge is revealed – how to ensure that the energy consumer receives the energy when and where it is wanted. Coal, oil and gas gave us flexibility at very low cost and that flexibility is not easy to replace. Energy storage is one of the main solutions to the problem of reconciling supply and demand. The state of policy development around energy storage is very far behind where it should be to meet political commitments, including UK’s net zero grid target of 2035.
This event sets out to expose some of the main issues behind why the policies around energy storage and the other flexibility technologies are less developed than they might be. The key objective is to unearth and to share what possible directions exist and what good practice is already established that can be adopted more broadly. The event will comprise some six formal talks in the morning, some five short ideas-stimulating pitches in the early afternoon and a final open-format plenary session.
Event Chair - Michael Liebreich
Michael Liebreich is an acknowledged thought leader on clean energy, mobility, technology, climate, sustainability and finance. He is the founder and senior contributor to Bloomberg New Energy Finance, a member of numerous industry, governmental and multilateral advisory boards, an angel investor, a former member of the board of Transport for London, and an Advisor to the UK Board of Trade.
EVENT AGENDA
09:15 – 09:30 Opening remarks by the event Chair, Michael Liebreich
09:30 – 11:00
Prof. Sir Chris Llewellyn Smith (Oxford University) Renewables, energy storage and Net-Zero UK
Prof. Goran Strbac (Imperial College London) - Role and value of energy storage in supporting cost effective transition to resilient zero- carbon energy future
Prof. Paul Ekins (UCL) - Energy policy and uncertainty
11:00 – 11:30 Break
11:30 – 13:00
Mr. Rupert Pearce (CEO Highview Power) - How policy shapes an energy storage OEM
Prof. Keith Bell (CCC) - Delivering a reliable decarbonised power system
Hannah Bronwin (SSE) - SSE and Energy Storage.
13:00 – 13:45 Break
13:45 – 15:15 Semi-structured discussion
Some very-short discrete presentations are available to stimulate this session with possible contributions from National Grid, The UKERC, Energy Systems Catapult, SunAmp and Energy UK.
15:15 – 15:30 Break
15:30 – 17:00 Plenary discussion and summary outcomes
A directed discussion combining perspectives from many different quarters to try to establish key learnings for policy making into the future.