World Bank forms int’l partnership to increase energy storage use in the C’bean
The World Bank says it has collaborated with 29 organisations in establishing a new international partnership to help expand the deployment of energy storage and bring new technologies to power systems in developing countries, including the Caribbean.
“Energy transitions are underway in many countries with a significant increase in the use of wind and solar power. To integrate these variable renewable resources into grids at the scale necessary to mitigate climate change, energy storage will be key,” said the Washington-based financial institution in a statement on Tuesday on the 10th Clean Energy Ministerial (CEM) and 4th Mission Innovation Ministerial in Vancouver, Canada.
“The increased use of wind and solar power with storage can help decarbonize power systems, expand energy access, improve grid reliability, and increase energy systems’ resilience,” the bank said.
It said the requirements of developing countries’ grids are not yet fully considered in the current energy storage market, “even though these countries may have the largest potential for battery deployment”.
The World Bank noted that the current battery market is driven by the electric vehicle industry, stating that most mainstream technologies cannot provide long duration storage or withstand harsh climatic conditions and low operation and maintenance capacity.
“There is a clear need to catalyze a new market for batteries and other energy storage solutions that are suitable for electricity grids for a variety of grid and off-grid applications and deplorable on a large scale,” the World Bank said.
To enable the rapid uptake of variable renewable energy in developing countries, the World Bank said it is convening an Energy Storage Partnership (ESP) that will foster international cooperation on: Technology research development & demonstration, applications; system integration and planning tools; policies, regulations and procurement; and enabling systems for management and sustainability.