366 S. KILPELÄINEN ET AL.
exceptions are possible in cases where “(…) market parties are not interested in providing specific storage services (…)” with regulatory approval
and oversight as well as a transparent market procedure being in place.
In case of exceptions, regulatory authorities must assess the potential of
other market parties to participate (European Commission 2017, p. 18).
Opposing this position on limiting energy storage ownership, the
European Distribution System Operators for Smart Grids (EDSO) as well
as the European Association for Storage of Energy (EASE) argue strongly
in favour of DSOs being allowed to own storage. EDSO proposes to
approach storage as a fully integrated network element to ensure the
proper operation of the distribution system. Using storage to support the
task of operating the network excludes any commercial activities, participation in competitive power markets or influencing price formation of the
market (EDSO 2018, p. 2).
The importance of storage and the smart deployment of a variety
of storage solutions were reiterated in the interviews. The maturity of
storage technologies differ considerably, with some thermal storage technologies having been commercialised. In Finland, short-term thermal
storage is used in combination with district heating to balance rapid peaks
in consumption (Paiho et al. 2018, pp. 512–513). Meanwhile electrical
battery storage is still in the early phase of deployment. For example,
Helen has a 1.2 MW/600kWh electric battery storage in Helsinki,
used for examining the prospects of frequency control operations, for
covering the production gaps of a nearby rooftop solar PV plant and for
handling peak consumption situations in the local area (Helen 2016). The
former national incumbent Fortum operates a 2 MW/1MWh facility in
Järvenpää. For regulatory reasons, such battery storage faces the risk of
being treated both as production and consumption, leading to double
taxation. Therefore, for example Fortum has situated its own facility as
part of its own production unit.
The owners of such storage may yet turn out to profit, as may the
owners of natural gas turbine plants capable of rapid ramp-ups, and
respective natural gas and LNG storage, since these resources may alongside the short-term services of batteries act as back-up fuel on an hourly
and daily basis in a high-renewable energy system (Holttinen 2017).
However, the most traditional storage such as piles of coal or oil tanks
is likely to be eventually phased out. However, so far, some power
plants, that might have been otherwise retired, have remained operational
exceptions are possible in cases where “(…) market parties are not interested in providing specific storage services (…)” with regulatory approval
and oversight as well as a transparent market procedure being in place.
In case of exceptions, regulatory authorities must assess the potential of
other market parties to participate (European Commission 2017, p. 18).
Opposing this position on limiting energy storage ownership, the
European Distribution System Operators for Smart Grids (EDSO) as well
as the European Association for Storage of Energy (EASE) argue strongly
in favour of DSOs being allowed to own storage. EDSO proposes to
approach storage as a fully integrated network element to ensure the
proper operation of the distribution system. Using storage to support the
task of operating the network excludes any commercial activities, participation in competitive power markets or influencing price formation of the
market (EDSO 2018, p. 2).
The importance of storage and the smart deployment of a variety
of storage solutions were reiterated in the interviews. The maturity of
storage technologies differ considerably, with some thermal storage technologies having been commercialised. In Finland, short-term thermal
storage is used in combination with district heating to balance rapid peaks
in consumption (Paiho et al. 2018, pp. 512–513). Meanwhile electrical
battery storage is still in the early phase of deployment. For example,
Helen has a 1.2 MW/600kWh electric battery storage in Helsinki,
used for examining the prospects of frequency control operations, for
covering the production gaps of a nearby rooftop solar PV plant and for
handling peak consumption situations in the local area (Helen 2016). The
former national incumbent Fortum operates a 2 MW/1MWh facility in
Järvenpää. For regulatory reasons, such battery storage faces the risk of
being treated both as production and consumption, leading to double
taxation. Therefore, for example Fortum has situated its own facility as
part of its own production unit.
The owners of such storage may yet turn out to profit, as may the
owners of natural gas turbine plants capable of rapid ramp-ups, and
respective natural gas and LNG storage, since these resources may alongside the short-term services of batteries act as back-up fuel on an hourly
and daily basis in a high-renewable energy system (Holttinen 2017).
However, the most traditional storage such as piles of coal or oil tanks
is likely to be eventually phased out. However, so far, some power
plants, that might have been otherwise retired, have remained operational