SolarPower Europe (SPE) has published 10 policy priorities geared at
facilitating expansion of solar
power and energy
storage within the European market.
Targeting both front-of-meter and behind-the-meter contexts,
the priorities concern matters of definition, market design, and remuneration.
SPE hopes its recommendations will resonate with the
European Commission as it finalizes preparation of future energy legislation for the European Union.
Vice president of SPE, Riccardo Amoroso, stated: “Today we
need European policy makers to put in place stable regulatory conditions
including clear definitions and an appropriate market design to ensure a level
playing field among competing solution providers. Such conditions will allow
for further innovations and corresponding market growth.”
Thomas Doering, policy analyst at SolarPower Europe,
coordinator of the Task Force Solar & Storage, and co-author of SPE’s Solar
and Storage paper, told Renewable Energy World: “Solar PV is already
providing a good share of European generating capacity. Of course, solar is a
variable resource. Storage allows us to overcome that variability and provide
more stable, or dispatchable, power.”
“We realize that to allow solar storage combinations to
penetrate the market, there are certain barriers to be overcome,” he said. “In
particular there are needs in terms of regulatory requirements, and market
design in particular.”
Although challenges are manifold, Doering highlighted a crux
issue:
“The market needs to adapt to storage as an energy asset in
the system that is neither consumer nor generator, but both. At the moment, in
many places storage is doubly taxed for its handling of electricity. Improving
this situation necessarily begins with a definition for electricity storage.”
Just days after publication of SPE’s policy priorities, the
European Commission issued a draft of new market design measures that included
a definition of energy storage.
The move was welcomed by the European Association for
Storage of Energy, and SPE.
Doering commented: “The definition is a first step in the
right direction. We now have a basis from which we can start improving
legislation. The definition is broad and includes double-conversion. Overall,
this means also solar and storage combinations are included. However, based on
this definition, storage itself is not yet recognized as a new asset and the
double taxation problems are not yet solved. This is something we need to work
on in the coming month.”
Definitions are a sure foundation, but true evolution
requires more systemic change.
Doering explained: “For solar storage solutions to make
economic sense we need functioning, effective markets that storage can compete
on.”
He highlighted that reform of intraday markets is important
in this respect.
“At the moment, solar-storage solutions are unable to
compete on several markets, not because of some technological capability, but
because of market mechanisms and design,” he said.
Solar storage solutions are constrained on other levels too;
for instance, by minimum capacity requirements and a lack of regulation for
pooling over distributed resources.
SPE believes that with meaningful development in policy,
solar storage solutions may significantly contribute to the recently announced
target of 27 percent renewables in final energy consumption by 2030 (as part of
the EU’s revised Renewable Energy Directive).
“Both solar and storage are a highly scalable, flexible
technologies — if we’re to see them contribute more greatly to the energy
system — as we believe they can — they need to be suitably rewarded, and fairly
remunerated for what they bring to the market,” he said.
Providing the Evidence
In support of its recommendations, SPE is preparing a report
to feature case studies from a wide range of industry players, including
DNV-GL, Enel
Green Power, Tesla,
and Sonnen.
The report is being prepared by a task force led by Doering
who said: “The case studies will provide concrete examples of solar-storage
solutions, how they contribute to their respective systems and by what
mechanisms. In each case we’ll be providing contextual, background information
on the markets in which they are installed.”
Though too early to go into details, Doering said: “We have
various projects featured in the case studies. In one, we consider an
interesting pilot project testing the combination of a large solar plant
coupled with a relatively large battery storage system; we consider how they
balance the system, integrate it into the market, and work with forecasts.”
“We hope to provide our report in the first half of 2017.
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