SolarPower Europe: Top 10 Policy Priorities For Solar Plus Storage
Posted by Betsy Lillian on November 28, 2016
SolarPower Europe is calling on the European Commission to address the needs of solar power and storage technology in the commission’s upcoming Energy Union Package. Specifically, the association says its Task Force on Solar & Storage has created 10 policy tasks that are crucial to develop an appropriate framework for solar plus storage.
1. A European Union-wide definition of “electricity storage” should be introduced in the revised Electricity Directive.
2. Clarify the definition and rights of active consumers regarding storage: The renewable energy directive should enshrine the right for consumers to self-generate and consume renewable energy. Consumers need to be able to own and operate storage devices without discrimination, and the stored electricity must be free of specific taxes or charges.
3. An appropriate reform of the intraday markets is crucial for enabling large-scale solar plants to better take on balancing responsibilities. This will also push for new solutions combining solar and storage.
4. A real market for selling and procuring flexibility services must be developed, both at transmission and distribution levels.
5. A clear basis regarding rules and circumstances under which TSOs and DSOs may operate storage solutions must be developed.
6. Targeted solar tenders can incorporate – as a weighting selection criteria – the co-location of solar and storage (e.g., on islands). The ability to avoid grid congestion might be a lever for deploying storage solutions.
7. The exchange of electricity on a community scale via collective self-consumption schemes must be possible for active consumers. Third-party intermediaries should be allowed to operate active consumers’ electricity storage devices via pooling platforms, such as virtual power plants or peer-to-peer mechanisms.
8. Clear rules regarding data transparency and access for all stakeholders are required: Data transparency and access are foundational enablers for stakeholders to proactively develop innovations in grid design and operation that increase reliability and safety.
9. Active consumers should be remunerated fairly for providing their devices to deliver services that support the electric grid. To achieve fair remuneration and service provision, tariffs must provide consumers and service providers with price signals so that they can act upon market developments and system needs.
10. Distribution grid tariffs must be “fit for the energy transition”: They should incentivize consumers to invest in technologies such as storage and advanced meters to allow the smartening of distributed solar PV by ensuring a balanced approach between volumetric and capacity-based grid tariffs. This balance can evolve over time – grid tariffs are set every four to five years, on average, in Europe – to accompany the progressive penetration of solar and storage.
SolarPower Europe’s Task Force on Solar & Storage currently has 14 members: ABB, BayWa r.e, DNV-GL, Enel Green Power, Enphase, EuPD Research, Eurobat, HIS Markit, Masar, Phoenix Solar, Reuniwatt, Tesla, the Solar Trade Association and Sonnen.
“The industry is being very successful in bringing down the cost of stationary battery storage and in improving its ability to provide efficient services and solutions to the market,” comments Riccardo Amoroso, chief innovation officer of Enel Green Power and vice president of SolarPower Europe. “Today, we need European policymakers 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.”
solarindustrymag.com |
