ECO4 is not a grant scheme. Obligated energy suppliers fund and deliver measures to eligible households, recovering costs through energy bills. Battery storage is not eligible under ECO4.

ECO4 has been extended to 31 December 2026 to give suppliers more time to meet their targets, complete outstanding obligations, and carry out remediation. Whilst new applications are allowed, some energy suppliers may slow delivery of measures including solar panels or reduce supply-chain contracting, which could limit support for some households. The extension gives more time for existing commitments but does not create new obligations or increase targets.

Underground gas storage plays an important role in supporting Britain’s energy security.

We recently consulted on whether any government action is needed to maintain gas security of supply across the energy transition, including possible measures to support current and potential new UK gas storage operators.

The government will publish its response to the Gas Security in Transition consultation in due course.

Once introduced, Transitional Energy Certificates may be issued to manage incidental production of petroleum from offshore activities including gas storage, hydrogen storage and carbon dioxide storage. Further detail on the application process and eligibility will be set out through legislation and subsequent guidance from the North Sea Transition Authority.

The government is supporting private investment in long duration electricity storage (LDES) through the LDES cap and floor policy, which is being delivered by Ofgem. This will deliver the first LDES projects in Great Britain for over four decades.

On 26 June 2026, Ofgem published minded-to decisions for the first LDES application window, supporting 16 projects totalling 7.6GW of power and 137GWh of storage capacity.

The government’s Clean Flexibility Roadmap Update of 13 July 2026 contains further details on steps to deliver LDES, as well as other forms of energy storage such as hydrogen storage and power.

Planning consent is a matter for the relevant planning authority, which varies by country. The UK Government would only be responsible for consenting pumped storage hydro (PSH) projects in England above 50MW. In practice, these do not exist given more suitable topography in other parts of Britain.

On 26 June 2026, Ofgem published its "minded-to" decisions on projects to be supported under the Long Duration Electricity Storage (LDES) cap and floor investment support scheme. This includes three PSH projects, all located in Scotland: Loch Kemp, Coire Glas and Earba. The latter two projects already have planning consent. No PSH projects in England applied to the scheme, and none in Wales passed an earlier eligibility assessment. Ofgem is now consulting on these decisions before confirming final awards in autumn 2026.

Hydrogen has the potential to support decarbonisation and economic growth across the UK, including through low carbon dispatchable power and inter-seasonal energy storage, to help balance a renewables-based power system.

We are progressing the design of the hydrogen transport and storage business models and the first allocation round. Over the past few months, my department has held workshops for industry to present proposals for the business model design, and draft eligibility and assessment criteria for the competition.

The Department recognises the importance of ensuring that patients and their families are appropriately informed about treatment and tissue retention options where clinically suitable.

Consent and tissue retention arrangements are subject to requirements set out by the Human Tissue Authority and other relevant guidance. NHS England will continue to consider whether there are opportunities to improve guidance and patient information, ensuring any future approach remains clinically appropriate, legally compliant, and aligned with existing regulatory frameworks.

The Government encourages the use of reservoirs to store high winter flows. The Environment Agency (EA) have committed to review its approach to abstraction at high flows and its approach to long duration licences.

We are also taking the following measures to support the development of new on farm reservoirs to capture high-flow water after heavy rainfall:

• The EA supported Water Resources East to create a leaflet to help farmers developing on-farm storage.
• Our Local Resource Options studies are enabling small groups of farmers and growers to identify future water resilience projects in their areas including irrigation reservoirs.
• Defra officials are also working closely with MHCLG to clarify planning practice for permitted development rights to support the creation of on farm reservoirs.

Defra works with industry and across Government, including with the Cabinet Office to monitor risks that may arise but decisions on capacity of their food storage infrastructure are for individual food businesses. The Government holds extensive, regular and ongoing engagement in preparedness for, and response to, issues with the potential to cause disruption to food supply chains.

The regulatory framework governing grid-scale battery safety is overseen by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) and requires developers to keep batteries within their safe operating range throughout their lifetimes.

In April 2024, the Government published health and safety guidance which said that consideration should be given to the impacts of climate change and the possibility of extreme heatwaves in this regard.

DESNZ engages regularly with the HSE and industry through the battery Health and Safety Governance Group, which monitors the regulatory framework to ensure it remains fit for purpose.

The regulatory framework governing grid-scale battery safety is overseen by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) and requires developers to keep batteries within their safe operating range throughout their lifetimes.

In April 2024, the Government published health and safety guidance which said that consideration should be given to the impacts of climate change and the possibility of extreme heatwaves in this regard.

DESNZ engages regularly with the HSE and industry through the battery Health and Safety Governance Group, which monitors the regulatory framework to ensure it remains fit for purpose.

The UK benefits from a secure, diverse energy system, drawing on a range of gas supplies. Gas storage provides additional flexibility at times of peak demand.

National Gas data indicates the UK has 1.7bcm of gas storage capacity, which is equivalent to around seven days of average winter demand.

The Department does not collect comparative G7 data.

The Environment Agency does not oversee the deployment of clean heating systems. However, where oil tanks, boilers etc. are removed, waste producers and contractors must comply with their legal Waste Duty of Care and ensure waste is managed appropriately, including any hazardous wastes from decommissioning activities. Further information here Waste duty of care code of practice - GOV.UK and Dispose of business or commercial waste: Your responsibilities - GOV.UK.

The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) oversees the legal framework setting the requirements for battery developers to manage risks throughout a grid-scale battery’s lifecycle. Government publishes guidance to support meeting these requirements, helping developers navigate standards and recommending best practice such as risk assessments and emergency planning. DESNZ engages regularly with industry via the Health and Safety Governance Group to monitor the safety of the industry, which has a high level of adoption of risk management procedures, including those recommended by guidance.

Community battery projects are already eligible for support through a range of national and devolved schemes, including the Local Power Plan, which is providing up to £1bn of funding over this Spending Review period.

On 4 June, the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero launched a Call for Evidence on community batteries, which is seeking views on financial barriers to delivery and the most effective funding routes. This will inform how Government can best support community-led battery storage projects going forward.

The Government recognises that community-owned battery projects can face a range of barriers, including high upfront capital costs, complex grid connection processes, and challenges around onboarding residents.

On 4 June, the Department launched a Call for Evidence on community batteries to gather views on these barriers from a range of stakeholders. This will help inform how Government can best support the scale-up of community-owned battery projects across the UK.

The Government has not undertaken an assessment of how much curtailed wind energy could have instead been stored in batteries or other forms of energy storage. The Government has commissioned and published analysis by LCP Delta and Regen on the benefits of Long-Duration Electricity Storage (LDES), including reduced wind curtailment, which has informed policy to encourage storage deployment including the LDES Cap and Floor.