Yorkshire firm urges government action on battery storage to help cut energy bills

Yorkshire-based renewable energy company Harmony Energy has joined forces with other battery storage operators to demand the UK Government stop “underusing” batteries when there is excess wind and solar power.

In an open letter also signed by executives at Zenobe, EelPower and Field Energy, Harmony CEO Peter Kavanagh warns that even when battery storage offers the cheapest, fastest solution to meet the needs of the GB Grid, 90% of the time the Electricity Systems Operator (ESO) is favouring more expensive, wasteful options.

“The consequences are clear,” Kavanagh says. “Consumers are paying more, clean renewable energy is being wasted and fossil fuel generation is being used instead. The cost of these constraints to consumers could exceed £2 billion a year by 2030.

“But the solutions are ready and waiting. They can be implemented quickly and at little cost. We want to be a constructive partner to help fix these issues.”

The open letter points out that investment in batteries does not need financial support from the government, only “a market that works properly”.

“The Government has an opportunity to cut bills and emissions by ensuring that grid-scale batteries are being properly utilised and that the market is fit for purpose,” says Kavanagh, whose Harmony team recently energised new battery storage sites at Wormald Green in North Yorkshire and Hawthorn Pit in County Durham.

“We are ready to work together with the Government, the ESO and Ofgem to fix this long-standing issue,” Kavanagh says. “By reducing the skipping of batteries, we can cut consumer bills while giving investors the confidence to invest in the UK’s energy transformation.”

Between them Harmony, Zenobe, EelPower and Field Energy represent a large share of battery storage projects across Great Britain. Harmony Energy has already made significant progress, including the launch of one of Europe’s largest battery storage facilities in Pillswood, East Yorkshire, in 2022. Facilities such as this one store extra renewable energy and feed it into the grid when needed, helping balance supply and demand.

Responding in the Financial Times, the National Grid admitted that ageing computer systems and an outdated electricity network were the reasons batteries were being overlooked.

“We do still acknowledge we still have more work to do,” said Craig Dyke, from National Grid’s electricity system operator.

The open letter comes in the same week energy secretary Ed Miliband gave a major speech in which he asserted that “Cheap, clean renewables offer us price stability that fossil fuels simply cannot provide.”

Kavanagh warned that if the government doesn’t act, the UK’s transition to renewable energy could stall, leaving energy bills high. He said: “If we invest in battery storage now, we can better manage our energy supply, reduce our dependence on gas, and lower costs for households – an urgent need in today’s economic climate.”