Tag: battery storage

The next big challenge for data centres isn’t more power

15 October 2026

Opinion
Battery energy storage site and wind turbines

This story first appeared in Data Center POST

  • Data centers are so vital to modern life that the UK has granted them critical national infrastructure status, elevating data and energy security to matters of national security.
  • While AI-driven energy demand is rising rapidly, the real hurdle is managing highly unpredictable, variable daily load patterns rather than just generating more total power.
  • Resilience requires a flexible electricity system capable of balancing supply and demand in real time using solutions like energy storage, dispatchable generation, smart energy management, and workload shifting.
  • Energy flexibility has become a business differentiator with companies like Google and Meta diversifying their power sources, while grid trials and rapid battery storage growth show real momentum.

Data Centers are so essential to modern life that, in 2024, the UK granted them the same critical national infrastructure status as water, energy and emergency services.

Protecting data infrastructure relies in part on protecting power and maintaining energy security. This has exposed a new reality: as data and energy become strategic dependencies, both are matters of national security.

As further proof of this, data centers and critical energy sites are known to be targeted in times of international conflict; such actions can exacerbate ongoing supply disruption and price volatility.

Against this backdrop, it’s clear that systems built on concentrated energy sources, such as an overreliance on one fuel type, can leave countries and operators exposed.

At the same time, it’s impossible to ignore the speed at which AI-driven energy demand is climbing. Data Centers are already consuming 6% of electricity in the UK and US, and that growth is not anticipated to slow.

However, because AI workloads are unevenly distributed and highly variable, data centers can have unpredictable fluctuations in power needs, surging during processing, dipping when they pause to share data or sync, and then repeating that cycle when they start the next batch. While daily averages might look consistent, demand throughout the day can fluctuate by hundreds of megawatts every few minutes.

In an environment of rising demand, unpredictable and dynamic load patterns, and geopolitical risk, simply adding more generation will not be enough. The real challenge is flexibility.

Flexibility will define the next era of energy

There is no single technology that can deliver the secure supply that AI will require. Resilience comes from combining dispatchable generation, renewable energy sources, storage, and smart energy management into a system flexible enough to respond to growing demand while guarding against volatility and disruption.

A data center’s ability to consistently access energy depends on the electricity system’s ability to adapt to changing conditions in real time, balancing supply and demand while maintaining a steady flow of power. Generation provides the power. Flexibility determines how effectively that power can be delivered and used, acting as a shock absorber against swings in supply and demand.

Historically, electricity systems have been designed around relatively predictable demand patterns.

Today, AI is introducing a new kind of demand. This dynamic is the reason flexibility will become one of the defining aims for the energy industry in years to come.

Flexibility as a business differentiator

Technology companies like Google and Meta are already diversifying to ensure energy security for their facilities. Google, for example, is purchasing nuclear power from Kairos Power’s small modular reactors to serve its AI facilities, while Meta has introduced a space-solar partnership with Overview Energy.

These investments demonstrate how energy resilience and flexibility are emerging as commercial differentiators for operators. Reliable access to power can be the difference between a data center’s success or failure. It allows organizations to manage risk, control costs, and scale more confidently. Flexibility can come from both the supply side (storage, dispatchable generation, and intermittent renewable generation) and the demand side (smart energy management, shifting workloads).

  • Energy Storage: Captures electricity when supply is abundant to be used later on when demand is high. Solutions include battery energy storage systems and pumped storage hydro.
  • Dispatchable Generation: Can ramp up quickly to generate electricity when needed. Examples include biomass and natural gas power plants.
  • Smart Energy Management: Using advanced software and AI, virtual power plants and other solutions can optimise cooling systems, server utilisation, and power consumption in real-time based on grid conditions.
  • Shifting Workloads: Moves non-urgent workloads to off-peak periods or physical locations to reduce stress on energy systems when demand is higher.

Together, these approaches can bolster energy systems and enable them to better respond to AI’s increasingly dynamic demand, while insulating against volatility and price swings.

Where We Stand Today

The good news is that there are signs of meaningful progress. In the UK, battery storage capacity surpassed nuclear generation for the first time, leaping from just under 10 MW to almost 7 GW in less than a decade. Elsewhere, earlier this year Emerald AI and the National Grid joined with other partners to complete a trial which proved that, through smart software, AI facilities can adjust electricity consumption in response to real-time demand signals without impacting critical operations.

Data centers need more of these solutions quickly because the cost of getting system flexibility wrong can be high, including rising costs, renewable curtailment, and reduced energy security. Meanwhile, as the geopolitical shocks that rocked energy markets have shown, reverting to and relying on the cheapest or fastest deployed single source also carries great risk.

AI’s energy demand is often framed as a race for more megawatts, but that’s an oversimplification. AI’s growth will depend just as much on the electricity system’s ability to adapt and continue delivering as it will on the megawatts.

To build a secure energy system capable of supporting the next generation of AI infrastructure, the UK must invest in flexible technologies that can meet the dynamic needs of future energy demand.

Britain’s solar boom needs energy storage to tackle evening price spikes, new report finds

16 September 2026

News

Britain’s rapid growth in solar power is helping cut emissions from the electricity system, but a lack of storage is leaving the grid increasingly exposed to higher prices and periods of tight supply, according to the latest Drax Electric Insights quarterly report authored by independent academics from Imperial College London.

The report found that Britain’s power system can now operate with very high levels of low-carbon generation during periods of strong sunshine. Britain added 2 GW of solar capacity over the past year, and during April, solar generation reached a record 15.4 GW. This helped zero-carbon sources account for a record 98.8% of electricity supply for one half-hour period.

The installed capacity (top line) and peak power output (bottom line) of Britain’s solar panels. 

Strong solar generation reduces Britain’s reliance on gas during the day and helps meet demand for air conditioning during heat waves. The challenge comes later, as solar output falls sharply in the evening, just as electricity demand typically increases, leaving Britain reliant on gas-fired generation to fill the gap. In June, Britain’s wholesale electricity prices after 7pm rose to over double their level at 2pm.

June’s heatwaves exposed the pressures on the system. Wholesale electricity prices rose above £500/MWh, their highest ever recorded in the month of June, while NESO issued its first-ever summertime Electricity Margin Notice.

Heatwaves can put further pressure on the electricity system, as we have seen over the summer. Air conditioning and greater cooling load increases demand just as high temperatures reduce the efficiency of power lines and thermal plants. Calm, low-wind evenings can also add to the pressure, leaving grid operators with fewer sources of generation available to meet the required demand.

Dr Iain Staffell, lead author of the report and Associate Professor at Imperial College London, said:

“Britain’s solar success should not end when the sun goes down. Batteries, pumped hydro and other storage tech can keep that daytime electricity flowing into the evening, which will reduce our reliance on gas and exposure to foreign market price spikes.

“Every new solar panel strengthens the case for storage. We need to build the two together. Otherwise, we risk breaking clean-power records at lunchtime and paying for expensive gas-fired power by dinnertime.”

The Government’s Solar Roadmap aims to put solar panels on an extra 3 million homes, adding a further 10 GW by 2030. The report warns that this will need to be accompanied by investment in electricity storage, flexible infrastructure and other forms of reliable generation if the additional power is to be used effectively.

Will Gardiner, CEO, Drax said:

“There is a feeling that Britain has made real progress in decarbonising its power system and now has a real opportunity to turn some of its energy challenges into solutions that can strengthen energy security, support growth and deliver wider benefits. We need to continue the plan of rolling out homegrown renewables, because they are doing much of the heavy lifting, we are reducing reliance on imported fossil fuels, improving energy security, reducing emissions and lowering bills.

“The key challenge we have is we need to be faster and more joined up. At Drax we’re all about delivering resilient, reliable, renewable power today while investing in the flexible, low-carbon technologies that we need to effectively meet demand. This means looking beyond single technologies, it is a whole-system challenge, where renewable generation, dispatchable low-carbon power, storage and flexibility all need to work together.”

Read the full Electric Insights report here.

ENDS

Media contacts:

Kieran Wilson
E: [email protected]
T: 07729092807

About Drax

Drax’s purpose is to enable a zero carbon, lower cost energy future. Our strategic aims are to be a UK leader in flexible, renewable generation and a global leader in sustainable biomass pellet production.

Our operations

Drax owns and operates a portfolio of flexible, low-carbon and renewable UK power assets – biomass, hydro, pumped storage and OCGT generation – which provide dispatchable power and system support services to the electricity grid.

We are the UK’s largest source of renewable power by output, and Drax Power Station is the UK’s largest single source of renewable electricity by output.

Through our pellet production facilities in North America, Drax is a leading integrated producer of sustainable biomass.

Drax supplies renewable electricity to UK industrial and commercial customers, offering a range of energy-related services including energy optimisation, as well as electric vehicle strategy and management.

Why investors are flocking to the energy powerhouse that is Scotland

8 June 2026

Opinion

This article first appeared in The Scotsman. 

The conversation about energy is often framed as a choice: security or affordability, climate ambition or economic growth, urgent action or long-term planning. But that is a false divide. Households, businesses and communities want a power system that is dependable, affordable, and capable of supporting a lower-carbon future.

That was reflected in the recent Scottish Parliament debate, “It’s Scotland’s Energy”, which underlined the growing importance of the subject to the country’s economic future, and increasingly its politics. The debate may have taken place in Holyrood, but the issues it raised matter for all the UK.

Scotland is exceptionally well placed to help solve the UK’s energy challenges. As Britain’s electricity system evolves, long-term investment is increasingly flowing to the places with the renewable resources, engineering capability and network infrastructure to support a more flexible power system. Scotland stands out on all three, and this is being recognised by investors.

Late last year,  ScottishPower announced plans to invest up to £12 billion to transform the grid, and SSE announced it was generating £3.4bn for Scotland’s economy as it delivers on its five-year investment plan.

Scotland’s strengths

Scotland has been central to Britain’s energy story for decades. With abundant renewable resources, a resilient and modern grid, and deep engineering expertise, Scotland has established itself as a true energy hub.

In 2025, Scotland generated record levels of renewable energy, while continuing to export surplus power to the rest of the UK. Its position as an energy powerhouse means it is also home to a highly skilled workforce with generational expertise.

Alongside the dedicated workforce, Scotland’s unique geography and heritage offer significant structural advantages. It’s home to some of Europe’s strongest offshore wind resources, with considerable opportunities for future development. It has long been at the heart of Britain’s hydroelectric industry and remains home to many of the UK’s most important, long-duration energy storage assets.

These technologies may not always attract the same attention as nuclear power or solar parks, but they will be essential to delivering a reliable, low-carbon power system.

Bringing greater stability to the National Grid

Generating renewable power is only one piece of the energy transition puzzle. As more wind and solar power comes online, and as transport, heating and industry continue to electrify, Britain’s electricity system will need to manage rising demand while balancing increasingly variable sources of generation.

Developing a reliable system under these conditions requires technologies capable of responding quickly and flexibly to today’s demands. This means long-duration storage technologies such as pumped-storage hydro and battery energy storage systems, or BESS, will play an even more central role in the transition.

These solutions allow the grid to respond more effectively to supply and demand fluctuations, while aiding long-term system stability. In fact, the National Energy System Operator has identified long-duration energy storage as a critical component of delivering a secure, decarbonised electricity system by 2035.

However, storage alone is not enough to solve the challenge. We also need significant investment in transmission infrastructure capable of moving renewable electricity. As Scotland’s capacity continues to expand, strengthening connections between the regions and nations is also important, lowering system costs and ensuring power can reach homes and businesses across the country.

Reducing exposure to shocks

Recent memory tells us we can’t take energy security for granted. The global gas crisis triggered by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine exposed the vulnerabilities that can emerge when energy systems lack resilience. Even today, UK industrial electricity prices remain among the highest in Europe, creating challenges for competitiveness, manufacturing and investment.

Scotland has worked to create an environment that encourages sustained, long-term investment. Recently, the Scottish Government committed to invest up to £500 million over five years to support offshore wind infrastructure, manufacturing and supply chains. Additionally, the UK Government’s National Wealth Fund, Great British Energy and the Scottish National Investment Bank backed the development of the Pentland Floating Offshore Wind Farm, which could power up to 70,000 homes.

Last month, I saw first-hand how Scotland’s energy assets are supporting the whole of the UK. I visited colleagues at Drax’s Cruachan Power Station in Argyll, which this year celebrated its 60th anniversary, and where we are investing £80m in a refurbishment programme designed to increase generating capacity and strengthen the long-term role of pumped storage hydro in Britain’s electricity system.

At Glenlee in Dumfries and Galloway, which has been generating renewable power for almost 90 years, we  installed solar panels at our plant, making it the first of eight planned solar projects across our Scottish hydro assets. In the wider sector, projects such as Zenobē’s Coalburn battery storage facility demonstrate growing confidence in Scotland’s role as a centre for large-scale energy storage and grid innovation.

The value of investments like these extends far beyond the energy system itself. They support jobs, strengthen local supply chains and generate opportunities for communities. Scotland’s energy strength isn’t just beneath the seabed or in the wind, it’s in its people.

Too often, the energy debate is framed as a choice between competing priorities. In reality, energy security, affordability and decarbonisation depend on one another. Getting them right will help deliver a stronger economy and a more resilient future.

Our shared ambitions require continued support, but investment in the necessary infrastructure is already underway. This is particularly true in Scotland, which will have a pivotal role in helping Britain deliver that future.

The opportunity to strengthen Britain’s energy security, support economic growth and accelerate the transition to a lower-carbon power system is significant – and so is the responsibility to deliver it.