Ofgem has published new guidance for companies who want to add storage to renewable energy installations that are supported under the Renewables Obligation (RO) and feed-in tariff (FIT) schemes.

Adding storage to such sites was not foreseen when the two schemes were set up, so it is not mentioned in legislation. Now the regulator confirms that storage can be added without affecting the sites’ accreditation. That should extend to mobile storage, the regulator said. But applications have to be assessed individually and developers have to bear the risk of refusal: Ofgem will only assess eligibility once the change has been made.

However, the storage can have other lines of revenue: because the regulator regards it as separate from the renewable installation, and not supported by the RO or FIT, it can participate in the Capacity Market (or seek other revenue opportunities).

The operator will have to ensure that it can demonstrate, via appropriate metering arrangements, that the electricity from ineligible sources does not augment the meter readings for the generating station. But energy used onsite (even if converted to another form such as heat), on a private wire, or time-shifted using the storage, remains eligible for the renewables support mechanisms.

Ofgem warns that the guidance applies only to its administration of the RO and FIT schemes, and says each application will be assessed case by case against their legislative frameworks.

Read the full document here

Further reading

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