Benefits of long duration storage - BEIS study

In this seminal study for the UK government, we used BID3 to investigate the role and requirements for long-duration electricity storage and associated system impacts.

This study examined the GB energy system in a variety of 2050 net zero scenarios to understand how the requirements for flexibility will change, and what benefits long duration storage (pumped hydro, hydrogen salt caverns, compressed air and thermal storage) could bring to the system.

• » Download full publication (pdf) Pdf, 2.9 MB.
  
• 
  
• » Link to external webpage External link.
• 
  

Modelling approach in BID3

In order to create the scenarios and sensitivities, extensive use of the BID3 ‘Auto Build’ module was made. This module exists to endogenously determine the optimal, least cost, future plant capacity of a given scenario. It does so fully reflecting the input weather patterns. In addition to power plants, the module also includes endogenous investment in interconnectors, transmission grid reinforcement, and the production, storage and transmission capacity of hydrogen.

After the Auto Build runs, we then used the Dispatch module in BID3, including:

• Reserve and response was also modelled, including reserve, frequency response and inertia requirements.
• Hydrogen co-optimisation we examined a hydrogen transmission network in GB along with electrolysis, hydrogen storage, hydrogen GTs/CCGTs and hydrogen production from SMR/ATR
• Transmission constraints were modelled using the boundaries functionality in BID3, which simulates the split of the GB system into 11 power zones - the same approach used by National Grid

Key findings

Our study found:

• the future energy system will have extended periods of days or weeks where there are excesses or shortfalls of renewable output;
• access to longer duration storage solutions to address these electricity imbalances can reduce system costs by between £13bn and £24bn;
• based on the technology cost assumptions, the larger savings arise when flexibility is delivered through a combination of electrolysis, hydrogen storage and hydrogen CCGTs, since system balancing still relies on large amounts of dispatchable low-carbon thermal capacity during these long periods of low renewable generation and high demand; and
• between 12 and 21 GW of medium (6hr to 12hr) and long duration storage (>12hr) is deployed across the scenarios and around 3GW of LDS (such as pumped storage, compressed air energy storage (CAES) or liquid air energy storage (LAES)) is seen as a low regrets investment to mitigate some of the uncertainty around emerging, innovative, novel solutions like hydrogen in the near-term.