Battery storage and carbon impact: the carbon cost and carbon benefit

Written by
Jack Kelly
Do Battery Energy Storage Systems (BESS) avoid more carbon than they create? It's the question at the heart of responsible energy storage, and one Harmony Energy Group (Harmony) takes seriously. Our BESS assets help support and deliver a lower-carbon grid that isn't reliant on fossil fuels or foreign imports, but their carbon footprint has to be weighed honestly against the emissions they displace. This article sets out how we calculate the carbon footprint and avoidance of our BESS assets, and what the numbers tell us about powering a sustainable future.

Our 2025 carbon footprint totals 55,570 tCO₂e, with the vast majority sitting within Scope 3, reflecting our focus on procurement and construction activity. But the more significant number is what our assets avoid. An independent assessment of a 99MW UK BESS asset shows net lifetime emissions of approximately -186,690 tCO₂e, with carbon payback achieved within around four years.

Across the ten UK BESS assets Harmony managed in 2025, carbon avoided totalled 36,831 tCO₂e, from 129,106 MWh of renewable energy stored and exported.

The data is clear: a BESS avoids significantly more carbon than it creates, making battery storage one of the most effective tools available for supporting a clean, reliable energy system.

Read the full article here

Related News