Centrica’s head of energy construction services for distributed energy and power Chris Morrison made the call during an evidence session of the Energy and Climate Change Committee today on low carbon infrastructure.
Morrison said Centrica would like to see the government supporting the addition of batteries to the list of enhanced capital allowances in response to a question on whether the government is sufficiently prioritising energy storage.
He said the one year tax relief of 100 per cent of the corporate tax rate would bring a “big boost for investment” by increasing returns for companies looking to invest in the storage market.
The enhanced capital allowances scheme is run by the Carbon Trust on behalf of the government. Morrison said the addition of storage to this list would not reduce the tax take for the government over the lifetime of the installation.
Despite not currently being on the list Morrison said the price of batteries is coming down “very rapidly” due to the increase in electric vehicles. He added that the company is already in talks with industrial and commercial customers about installing battery systems connected to PV systems.
“We believe we will start to see battery storage as a commercial option for our customers in the next year,” Morrison said.
Scottish Power Energy Networks said the UK energy storage market would also benefit from an increased regulatory mechanism and the introduction of installation targets similar to those seen in America, but the company “has not quite seen that coming forward”.