Looking ahead to COP23 – a global movement for climate action

It may seem like a long way off – but we have started to think about the upcoming COP23 conference in Bonn, where themes like climate finance and the circular economy are going to take centre stage.

At Low Carbon, we have recognised the tremendous potential of financing industrial grade energy storage projects, to create a cleaner and more secure energy future, whilst also supporting in this shift to a more circular economic model. Our partnership with VPI Immingham to create ‘VLC Energy’ will see the development of two of the UK’s largest energy storage plants in Cumbria and Kent, which will be connected to the grid by end of year. Renewable energy is playing an increasingly important role in the UK’s energy mix and as this role expands, the development of energy storage plants will be central to the future success of the UK’s energy network.

This project and projects like this are needed to create the vision for a circular economy, which will be discussed at length in Bonn this year. Energy storage ensures no energy from intermittent renewable energy sources is ever wasted and can be used at times of peak demand. The rise of energy storage will also pave the way for a smarter ‘microgrid’ economy in the UK, with homeowners being able to store the electricity generated from solar panels or electric vehicles in their home energy storage product. In time, we hope to move to an economy where electricity is bought and sold between homeowners in a more agile, circular fashion that the current electricity system today,

As the circular economy and climate finance will dominate the agenda at COP23, we hope to see energy storage take pride of place in this discussion. It presents an attractive, fixed and long-term return on investment for institutional investors all over the world, and will ultimately be the crucial catalyst in the shift to a smarter, more secure and carbon-free grid.