Storage is the “missing link” in the energy transition. This is the main theme that emerged during the XIII Annual Workshop of theOIR Observatory organized by Agici, founded by Andrea Gilardoni, which was attended by various representatives of the sector and the political world. Only thanks to the development of energy storage capacity will it be possible to obtain a fully decarbonised electricity system, capable of supporting the variability of generation from renewable sources, also in terms of seasonality. However, the regulation of this process is still in an embryonic state, even at the European level, even if at the Italian level an effective and coherent development of accumulation systems is included in the challenging objectives and important allocations in the Integrated National Plan for Energy and Climate (PNIEC), in the National Recovery and Resilience Plan (PNRR) and in the National Hydrogen Strategy.
In Italy, the total storage capacity in 2020 is 7,1 GW, of which over 99% of pumped hydro, 0,8% electrochemical, 0,07% thermal storage and the remaining 0,02% hydrogen. For the next few years, an average annual growth of 15,5% in electrochemical capacity is expected, which will go from an estimated 181 MW for 2021 to 11,8 GW in 2050 (Bloomberg estimates). The OIR 2021 Report analyzed the business cases of electrochemical storage solutions in light of the different remuneration possibilities and market opportunities available in Italy. The analysis showed that the average level of remuneration that makes a storage plant sustainable in Italy, according to the analyzes conducted for the study, is around €57.900/MW/year.
The strategies of 15 main European players active in the industrial and commercial development of storage systems reflect the situation and dynamics expected in Europe: the total installed capacity in 2020 by the operators in the sample amounts to 31 GW, of which 29,6 GW refers to hydroelectric storage and the remaining 1,4, 26 GW to electrochemical storage; the planned new capacity, equal to 81 GW, mainly concerns electrochemical storage (12%), followed by electrolysers (7%) and pumping (XNUMX%). The current and prospective development of storage plants is limited by various critical issues, such as: high investment costs, lack of support tools, regulatory heterogeneity at an international level and regulatory uncertainties on pumping. The game for the development of energy storage plants will be played in the coming years, but the following are necessary: favorable regulatory environment, effective remuneration mechanisms and support for technological development.
