To Store or Not to Store: A Q-Methodological Study into the Influence of Perceived Needs and Factors on the Implementation of Electrical Storage Applications in the Dutch Power Grid

Modern society is highly dependent on the reliable supply of affordable electricity. To ensure a sustainable future, this energy should be derived from renewable generation systems. The intermittent output of such systems makes it hard to maintain the so-called grid balance, which can lead to the malfunctioning of the current power grid. Adding electrical storage applications to the electrical energy infrastructure is increasingly mentioned as a viable and even instrumental solution, but no stakeholder seems willing to act. This research combines PESTLE analysis with Q-methodology to investigate and describe the variables that influence this situation. In doing so, it lists the institutional factors that are presently deemed by various stakeholders to be either opportunities or barriers to implementing a system to maintain grid balance in the Dutch electrical infrastructure. A tentative conceptual modal is proposed to illustrate the mutual influence of the perceived external forces that could induce change in the Dutch electricity sector.Management of Technology (MoT