With a pilot, set to launch mid-2019, the new battery storage scheme will better equip the industry to roll out energy storage installations whilst ensuring consumer protection. The announcement comes following the growing adoption of energy storage technologies to maximise renewable energy in the UK and create a flexible electricity grid.
MCS is a quality assurance scheme, supported by the Department for Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy (BEIS). It provides the framework for the certification of microgeneration technologies used to produce electricity and heat from low carbon sources. The MCS certification scheme for battery storage systems will also build upon a project funded by the MCS Charitable Foundation which explores self-consumption of solar PV electricity with and without battery storage systems.
“We have been working hard on the development of this certification which really complements existing technologies” said Chris Roberts, MCS Director leading on the new project. “The move reflects the convergence between technologies as internet connectivity develops and smart meters are rolled out.”
Ian Rippin, chief executive of MCS added that as MCS continues to support the sector, its battery storage scheme will be backed by scheme requirements managed independently and impartially. This is all about enabling the industry to deliver the best outcomes for the consumers that it serves.
Registrations under the scheme will sit alongside existing small-scale renewable energy installations that are currently held centrally within the MCS Installation Database. For Installers this represents a one-stop-shop for all of their registrations without the need to access a different system. For consumers, it delivers the benefit of being able to search for all of their renewable energy needs, including battery storage solutions, in one place.
Chris Hewett, chief executive at the Solar Trade Association welcomed the news, saying that the project is a natural extension to the existing MCS scheme and that, increasingly, consumers are seeing the benefit of marrying solar to battery storage.
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