New figures published by German solar lobby group BSW indicate that prices of solar power storage units are dropping considerably, and sales are picking up. Nonetheless, the market remains quite small.
Only recently, I wrote about how the German PV market continues to slow down, although solar power is now much cheaper than electricity from the grid (socket parity). My main conclusion was that since Germany has a policy of direct consumption instead of net-metering, socket parity requires storage, and the additional cost of the battery system ruins the calculation.
Today, BSW published a press release explaining that the price of solar storage systems dropped by around a quarter over the last six months. More importantly, 32 percent more applications were submitted in Q3 than in Q2 2014 for the upfront bonuses that the KfW Bank provides for such investments. The bank, which funnels governmental incentives into the market, reimburses investors for up to 30 percent of the cost of the storage system and also provides low-interest loans for the array and the storage.
Source: Renewables International. Reproduced with permission.
