….Italy represents a good case in point, as Lane explains that the country has some of the highest electricity prices in the world, owing to its almost complete reliance on imported natural gas for power generation, the price of which is mostly indexed to oil and oil products. This combined with a good solar yield means that solar PV is close to grid parity […]

Lane states: "This has led to a dramatic drop in the electricity flowing from the transmission grid into the distribution grid, especially during daytime ‘solar hours’ […] This is starting to move Italy into negative pricing territory where the economics for storage are given a major boost."

This has in turn led Enel to instigate six separate storage projects in several MV/HV distribution centres based on electrochemical and lithium-ion battery technologies […]

Lane also believes that energy storage could be tailored to suit geographical locations, suggesting that, "in countries where solar yields are lower, such as Northern Europe, virtual storage systems using thermal storage plus heatpumps or micro-CHP could be more effective."  […]