The EU faces sig­nif­i­cant chal­lenges with ener­gy waste and high prices due to insuf­fi­cient ener­gy stor­age. Despite rapid growth in renew­able ener­gy, the lack of stor­age means excess ener­gy is often lost, exac­er­bat­ing high ener­gy costs for indus­tries. In 2023, the EU wast­ed the equiv­a­lent of 0.5% of its total pow­er con­sump­tion. The EU’s new plan aims to pro­mote ener­gy stor­age to sta­bi­lize prices and improve ener­gy use. How­ev­er, experts argue that a clear strat­e­gy and more sup­port are need­ed to address these issues effec­tive­ly. The Vil­vo­orde project, Europe’s largest bat­tery stor­age park, exem­pli­fies efforts to tack­le these chal­lenges. Ener­gy stor­age tech­nolo­gies can ease price spikes and help renew­able oper­a­tors avoid curb­ing pro­duc­tion dur­ing over­sup­ply. The EU’s inter­nal assess­ment pre­dicts ris­ing ener­gy prices, high­light­ing the urgency for a com­pre­hen­sive ener­gy stor­age strat­e­gy to sup­port eco­nom­ic revival and green pol­i­cy. source: https://www.politico.eu/article/eu-energy-waste-prices-energy-storage/