Battery Energy Storage Systems (BESS)

About BESS

Battery Energy Storage Systems (BESS) are crucial for the energy transition, providing flexibility and stability to the grid. They store energy from renewable sources like solar and wind, and release it when needed, helping to balance supply and demand.

In the UK we are due to energise our first two UK batteries, based in Scotland, in spring 2025. ENGIE has set an ambitious global target to achieve 10 GW of battery storage by 2030.

How can ENGIE help you?

If you own battery assets, ENGIE can help you optimise revenue-generating opportunities. Please contact our trading team to discuss how this could work for you. If you are a developer looking for an investor in your battery site, please contact our battery storage team.

Battery storage can also provide essential resilience and back-up power for your site, as well as generate revenue for your business. If you have space available for battery installations, and if you have more than 10 MW of spare capacity on your grid connection, you could benefit from adding battery storage to your site.

Environmental advantages

Battery Energy Storage Systems (BESS) can offer several environmental advantages and therefore significantly impact the energy transition. A few of them are:

1. Reducing carbon emissions: BESS can help integrate renewable energy sources such as solar and wind into the grid, reducing reliance on fossil fuel-based power plants which can lead to significant reductions in greenhouse gas emissions.
2. Increasing energy efficiency: By storing excess energy during low-demand periods and then releasing it during peak-demand periods, BESS helps with energy management, reduce the wastage of energy and conserve natural resources.
3. Supporting grid stability: BESS can provide fast and reliable response times to grid disturbances, which can help prevent blackouts and other disruptions, ensuring a more reliable and secure power supply.

Financial advantages

A variety of grid-balancing services offer opportunities to earn revenue by supplying stored energy to the National Grid. Additionally, there are opportunities to trade energy from battery storage on the wholesale market, capitalizing on fluctuating prices.

Battery Energy Storage Systems (BESS) enable energy arbitrage, allowing you to purchase energy during off-peak hours when grid prices are lowest, store it, and use it during peak hours. When combined with on-site wind or solar power plants, BESS maximize the value of electricity produced from renewable sources, helping to reduce energy costs at the wholesale level and reflecting these savings on electricity bills.

Furthermore, Battery Energy Storage Systems play a crucial role in providing valuable and potentially highly remunerated energy services, such as electricity frequency regulation and real-time volume balancing, to the grid through local TSOs. This support is essential in addressing the challenges posed by the increased penetration of renewable energy sources like solar and wind into the grid.