The social dimension of renewable energy storage in electricity markets: The role of partnerships

Energy storage systems play an important role in achieving the goal of 100% electricity generation from renewable energy sources by improving their efficiency and flexibility. Anecdotal evidence around the world has shown that, beyond techno-economic factors, social factors and partnerships in particular may significantly influence the promotion of these storage systems. This study therefore aims to improve the understanding of how different partnerships may support the establishment and operation of various renewable energy storage systems, which provide a range of applications in electricity markets. We begin by presenting various types of storage systems and demonstrating how partnerships are formed around these storage systems, thus enabling the delivery of diverse applications. We then go on to depict seven prominent partnerships prototypes involving different combinations of actors while matching them with the storage systems they support. This study therefore lays the theoretical foundations for understanding how varied partnerships contribute differently to the promotion of storage systems.