Value of energy storage aggregation to the electricity system

Energy storage offers the flexibility needed to integrate renewable generation into electricity systems. One decentralized option is to install battery packs in homes and offices. Yet storage owners might operate their device autonomously to minimize their own electricity costs, but this could be inefficient from a wider electricity system perspective. Using a novel agent-based power system model, ESMA, we explore the economic trade-offs of aggregator-led (centralized) and consumer-led (decentralized) coordination in the UK over the period 2015–2040. We consider the deployment of storage in the domestic, commercial and industrial sectors.