NEW STORAGE technologies are fuelling a resurgence in confidence in renewable energy.

Industry watchers now believe that effective storage is overcoming the limits imposed by intermittent renewable energy generation methods like wind and solar, describing it as the 'missing piece in the puzzle'.

A sign that energy storage tech has come of age was the dedicated 'energy storage theatre' at this week's Energy and Rural Business Show, in Telford. But according to experts speaking at the event, the many opportunities on offer require careful consideration.

“There generally isn’t one revenue stream that storage can use to create a viable business model – it’s more about tapping into multiple revenue streams and being creative about how you make the most of your asset,” said Madeleine Greenhalgh from the Electricity Storage Network.

“Co-locating storage with renewable generation is a prime way of making the most out of the energy generated. With the Feed-in Tariff due to close this year, farmers that can boost their self-consumption with storage will likely benefit in the short term,” she said. “The cost of lithium-ion storage is always coming down, so the next few years could see higher take up.

“If the treatment of storage becomes better tailored and understood by government and regulator, we would see a real increase in investor confidence in storage and there is still a great deal of excitement about what storage can do, with many predicting a very high level of growth,” she added.