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Turning Curtailment into Capacity: Why Europe Must Rethink Energy Storage — Now

In 2024 alone, €7.2 billion worth of renewable energy was wasted across just seven European countries because it couldn’t be accommodated by the grid — including €3.3 billion in Germany through redispatch measures. Meanwhile, more than 1,700 GW of renewable projects remain stuck in queue, waiting for grid access.

This is not a generation problem. It’s a storage and infrastructure crisis.

Europe urgently needs scalable, long-duration, seasonal storage solutions that can rescue excess renewable electricity — especially during sunny and windy days — and retain it for cold, dark winter months when energy demand peaks.

To address this, I’ve developed a new approach based on compressed methane using TSTM (Tubular Storage Tank Modules). These modular storage units can be deployed on land or offshore, repurpose unused infrastructure such as Nord Stream 2 pipes or coal-fired power plants, and deliver large-scale storage for less than €10/kWh — without the rare materials or inefficiencies of batteries or hydrogen.

I’ve just published a detailed article on Zenodo that explores this solution in depth, with updated references from Euronews, ENTSO-E, Beyond Fossil Fuels, and IEA:

🔗 From Curtailment to Capacity – Unlocking Europe’s Energy Future with TSTM
📄 DOI: https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.15666971

 The article outlines how TSTM can:

  • Save billions in curtailed energy

  • Relieve redispatch pressure

  • Enable seasonal storage

  • Reuse stranded coal infrastructure

  • Accelerate renewable deployment

  • Reduce fossil backup dependency

Let’s start building the energy barns of the future — before the next harvest is lost.

💬 I welcome feedback, questions, and collaboration ideas.

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