Although renewable energy from sources such as wind and solar may be clean and cheap, they are also intermittent and unpredictable. Other sources, such as energy storage, may be integral to bringing the energy transition to fruition.
A new white paper from UBS titled, At a tipping point: Supercharging decarbonization with energy storage, makes the case for energy storage as an economic and sustainable reinforcement to help offset the limitations of renewables. It is also a more attractive alternative to thermal-generation sources such as coal, gas or nuclear, which traditionally have been used to prop up renewables, especially during periods when wind or sun is not present.
According to UBS, energy storage has reached an inflection point, with U.S. capacity tripling to 6 gigawatts in 2021. To illustrate the trajectory of this market, UBS expects energy storage to surpass 10 gigawatts in 2022.
Although energy storage is a relatively new asset class, it a