Survey: Energy entrepreneurs set sights on flexible supply as renewables growth slows

Commercial scale independent renewables projects have doubled their contribution to Britain's electricity generation since 2012, according to the latest report from UK energy company SmartestEnergy.

In total, more than £3bn has been invested in independent renewable energy generation projects, with total capacity topping 14GW - up from just 4.7GW in 2012.

However, the 5.3 per cent year-on-year growth in investment recorded in the Energy Entrepreneurs 2019 report was the slowest rate since SmartestEnergy began providing annual data on the sector in 2013.

"The end of subsidies has inevitably seen investment in new generation projects plateau, but the focus is now shifting to new ways for energy entrepreneurs to profit from taking part in the transition to a smarter, lower carbon energy system," said Dave Cockshott, chief commercial officer for SmartestEnergy.

The report demonstrates growth in investments in battery storage and gas peaking plants, as entrepeneurs seek to tap into opportunities to supply flexibility services to help balance electricity supply and demand on the grid.

According to the report, independent energy entrepreneurs invested £36m in gas-peaking plants - flexible generation assets that can be quickly switched on and off to meet periods of high electricity demand. Meanwhile, driven in part by independent developers the amount of battery storage capacity in the planning system more than doubled to 4.9GW during 2018, according to UK government figures. 

Otherwise, independent renewables growth was concentrated in Scotland, where five major onshore wind farms came online through 2018. In England, two large-scale anaerobic digestion projects provided 37MW of England's total 49MW capacity increase. On-site generation projects accounted for most of Wales' 4MW growth.

Overall, solar remained the dominant technology, accounting for 6GW of the 14.1GW total independent renewable capacity.

Hopes remain that renewables development can accelerate again, as technology costs keep falling and developers identify new routes to market that are not relianton government support. But industry insiders remain concerned that the sector will continue to face barriers to deployment without fresh policy moves by the government.