Date: Wednesday, 29 March 2023
Time: 2pm
Location: Kate O'Brien, C1-079

Marc Ayoub (UL). Public policy and the emergence of battery energy storage systems: A cross national study Department of Politics and Public Administration, Spring 2023 Seminar Series March 29, 2pm, Kate O'Brien Room Abstract: To increase the penetration of renewable energy (RE), one of the key challenges that need to be addressed is the intermittent nature of wind and solar power which can lead to curtailment in times of peak generation. Batteries, among other energy storage technologies, can store energy when the sun is not shining and the wind is not blowing, and then release it when it is more needed. This paper aims to investigate how existing public policies around the world are designed to influence and improve penetration of RE using battery storage systems (mainly grid-scale batteries) at all levels of the electrical grid. One of its aims is to learn policy lessons that can be generalized and applied in Ireland. It will therefore inform policy makers in the future as Ireland moves toward a predominantly renewable electricity supply, and contribute to addressing the major societal challenge of climate change. The study consists of a comparative cross-national analysis of the impact of such public policies and their influence on the use of stationary batteries, based on a series of country examples. The selection on these case studies will follow a policy mixes’ approach to identify the different categories of influencing policies. All Welcome!