There is now over 7 GWh of network-scale BESS capacity online in Britain, but 2024 saw a slowdown in both capacity additions and overall pipeline growth, while Ireland saw growth.
This is evident from the latest figures from the UK Battery Storage Project Database Report from Solar Media Market Research, described in a blog on our sister site Energy storage.news this week.
In 2024, around 1.5 GW of battery energy storage system (BESS) capacity was completed in Britain, 28% less than in 2023. The average project size increased year-on-year, from 52 MWh to 62 MWh.
BESS capacity submitted for construction applications also fell: a 21% drop in terms of the number of projects and a 40% drop in terms of MWh capacity. The slowdown in applications could indicate that developers are now focusing on building out projects, noted Solar Media analyst Charlotte Gisbourne.
Last year, more BESS capacity was granted planning permission than any other year, and there are now 101 GWh of projects approved and more than 18 GWh currently under construction.
Ireland
In Ireland the market is in an earlier stage of development. Just over 1GWh is now online, including a 300MWh project powered by energy company ESB in Cork, which marked an 11% year-on-year growth in capacity additions.
Submitted capacity, meanwhile, rose 63% to 7.4 GWh, including a 1 GWh proposal from developer FuturEnergy for a project using US company Form Energy’s new ‘iron-air’ battery technology.
View the full blog on Energy-Storage.news herewhich goes into more detail about all the above figures and more.
