A panel of experts began considering temporary measures to speed up BESS project grid connection request processing at a meeting of the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry’s (METI) Power Grid Working Group held on September 19, 2024.
The working group started discussing the possibility of introducing grid connection contracts that would restrict the hours during which BESS operators could charge their batteries in order not to overload the grid. That would allow applications that are currently on hold due to the need for grid capacity reinforcements to be made before approval to be approved quicker.
Under the new contract type, the grid operator could restrict charging of batteries at times when the charging would result in the grid capacity being exceeded.
With increasing solar and wind capacity, BESS is expected to play a crucial role in Japan’s power system going forward. However, introduction of storage is not progressing as rapidly as hoped for, partly due to the long waiting times for grid connection.
As of the end of June 2024, TSOs received 60GW worth of grid connection applications for BESS projects, an approximately fivefold increase compared to the end of May 2023. Of those, 4.5GW worth of projects was determined to be connectable to the grid so far, an approximately fourfold increase compared to the end of May 2023.
Further analysis of this topic will be published in The Japan Power Industry Executive October 2024 issue.
