Mr. Robin McCormick:

Batteries are an interesting subject and there is a lot of interest in how they operate. We do not own any kit, such as a generator, a battery or a wind farm. We try to manage the consequences of all the technology in the system. When the support mechanisms were put in place the commercial response was onshore wind but there has not been the same response from the battery storage fraternity although it is likely that it will increase and there is evidence of much more activity in the sector. We have a 10 MW battery in one of the power stations in Northern Ireland but we do not have any scale batteries connected to the system at the moment. We expect that batteries will start to play a greater role, both at local level as part of micro-generation and at scale on the grid. A battery can provide some of the services that were mentioned, for which its provider will be remunerated and it can provide capacity. It can also play a part in managing infrastructure. The battery people need to get their revenue streams from a number of different places and trying to put the jigsaw together is probably what is delaying some of the battery activity in the system.