World Bank announces $1 billion investment for battery storage in developing countries

Battery storage allows for wind and solar energy to be used at a much greater scale by making it possible to store electricity and use it when it needs it the most.

However, battery technology is expensive and not yet widely developed in large-scale projects. Notably, in developing countries the gap is acute, despite wind and solar energy having great potential.

The financial institution has created a new programme which aims to close this gap.

The Accelerating Battery Storage for Development programme is a new, first of its kind, global initiative to accelerate the development of battery storage for energy systems in developing and middle-income countries.

This is great news for developing countries who often have unreliable electricity. The programme intends to combat this by increasing grid stability as well as helping move them towards a new generation of renewable energy.

The goal is to finance 17.5 gigawatt hours of battery storage by 2025.

Riccardo Puliti, Senior Director and Head of Energy and Extractives at the World Bank, said:

"We are seeing historic low prices for solar and wind energy, and countries want to use as much of it as possible to meet their energy needs. But to make full use of solar and wind power, we need at-scale and affordable battery storage. Our goal is to catalyse new markets that will help drive down costs and make batteries a viable storage solution for developing countries."

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