NEW ENERGY storage technology is being rolled out to smaller scale renewable energy producers, meaning farmers can save money by storing energy for their own use at peak times, when it’s most expensive to purchase – and maximise profitability when selling power to the grid.

“Energy Storage is coming of age,” said Renewable Energy Association chief executive Nina Skorupska CBE, speaking at the recent Energy Now expo. “Depending on the business model, investing in storage could be making farmers money in the next three to eight years,” she added.

Carter Jonas senior energy specialist Peter Robinson said that farmers only need one or two acres to have a commercial scale storage facility on-site: “It doesn’t need to be on good quality land, it can be on a brownfield site or scrubland.”

Also speaking at the event was Ray Noble, senior advisor for solar and storage at the REA, who said that storage can not only save farmers money on their own energy use, but also offer a lucrative opportunity for those exporting to the grid. “All capacity can be put into battery storage and be sold to the grid at an appropriate time, at certain times of the day it can make up to six times more than other times,” noted Mr Noble, who predicted that when the combination of ground mounted solar, on-shore wind and storage properly comes together in two to three years-time, they will provide the lowest cost energy available.

“Ground mounted solar is the cheapest to install and when working in tandem with a storage facility, it could lead to self-sufficiency in terms of electricity," he said. "Solar will become even more important in the near future."

“The dash for cash is over,” added Welsh hill farmer and renewable energy engineer Chris Brooks. “Solar’s most viable if you have a large on-site consumption. We’re now adding in battery storage at the farm in order to cover the night time hours and even without subsidy, this will pay,” he added.