With the falling costs of renewable power generation technologies, the focus is increasingly moving to the next stage of the energy transition, leading to a shift in emphasis towards an energy system approach that seeks to integrate different technologies and sectors. This, in turn, will minimise the cost of the transition to an energy future in which variable renewables and electric vehicles will play an increasing role.

This shift in dynamic as the energy transition accelerates has served to highlight numerous new technologies, market designs, business models and “systems thinking” at the energy sector level that will be required – and will become economic – in this second stage of the energy transition. The role of battery energy storage systems (BESS) for stationary and transport applications is therefore gaining prominence.

IRENA is tracking the current costs and performance of BESS and is monitoring how the value of these systems in different applications and international markets is likely to evolve over time (e.g., increasing self-consumption of rooftop solar PV, the provision of grid services such as frequency regulation or ramping needs, as well as peak power demand shaving in industry, etc.).