Nearly 10% of US solar systems will include battery storage in 2018

North America’s booming commercial solar market was driving a trend that, according to global analyst group IHS, would see almost one in 10 solar systems have energy storage built in, in as little as three years’ time.

IHS announced on Monday that, according to its data, 9 per cent of US solar photovoltaic systems were projected to include storage in 2018, or around 700MW of PV systems installed by 2018, compared to just 30 MW in 2014.

The shift to commercial systems that included energy storage was driven by advances in battery technology and reductions in cost, as well as through the offer of no-money-down leasing packages, said IHS.

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“The commercial PV energy storage market in the United States has gained huge momentum in recent months,” said Sam Wilkinson, research manager for solar and energy storage for IHS Technology.

“Leading suppliers are currently offering highly successful ‘no-money-down’ sales models to customers, and they have also gained the backing of major investors.”

According to the newly released IHS Energy Storage in PV Report – 2014, US commercial buildings are subject to peak demand charges, which are based on the maximum power drawn from the grid during the billing period.

These charges can make up a significant portion of a business’s electricity bill; however, using a battery and PV to reduce peaks in grid power consumption can reduce these costs significantly.

“Incentives, like the Self Generation Incentive Program offered in California, are also making the economics of such systems extremely attractive; but there is no guarantee that electricity tariff structures won’t be adjusted, which could affect the economics of existing systems,” Wilkinson said.

As Solar Power World notes, US market growth for energy-storage PV systems has been largely driven by suppliers like STEM and Green Charge Networks.

IHS says it expects that leading US installer and solar leasing pioneer, SolarCity – which already offers customers Tesla batteries with its PV systems – will become increasingly active in the attached storage market in 2015.

“SolarCity’s third-party ownership business model has enabled it to become the largest residential and commercial solar installer in the United States,” Wilkinson said.

“The company already has highly established sales channels and financing agreements in place that will make it another major driving force in the commercial PV energy storage market.”

US-based micro-inverter company Enphase – which has described the global storage + solar market as “infinite” – also has its eye trained on the commercial market.

Last month, Enphase began shipping its advanced C250 Microinverter Systems, which were specially designed and built to support the introduction of storage for commercial solar projects.

“Our view, say, two to three years out; we actually don’t believe that people will sell a solar system, or buy a solar system, we believe that you are going to buy an energy system,” Enphase CEO Paul Nahi told RenewEconomy in an interview last December.

“That will necessarily include solar, but it will also include storage, it will also include load management, and it will be wrapped up in a software package and a financial package.”

As for the US residential market, IHS predicts demand for PV systems with attached storage will remain limited, with the only real incentive driving battery installation being to provide back up for power blackouts.

This differed from European markets like Germany, Italy and the UK, said IHS, where the economics of a residential PV system were improved when the system owner was able to increase the amount of power they self consume – a factor that is looking likely to drive energy storage uptake in Australia’s residential market, too.

Comments

3 responses to “Nearly 10% of US solar systems will include battery storage in 2018”

  1. Energy Storage Avatar
    Energy Storage

    Nahi’s comments regarding consumers eventually buying ‘energy systems’, complete with storage and software wrapper, rather than solar systems were spot on except for the fact its not two-to-three years out — that capability exists now. Sunverge Energy offers exactly this type of end-to-end platform solution including financing courtesy of partners.
    It is unfortunate the IHS report neglected to capture the additional consumer benefits resulting from residential solar + storage. Besides back-up power, bill reduction, participation in DR programs or other utility-sponsored time varying rate structures, and increased customer choice as to where and when their stored energy is used are additional tangible benefits. These benefits, along with the peace of mind of reliable back-up power, will drive a more aggressive uptake of solar + storage solutions which in turn benefits utilities, consumers and the grid as a whole.

  2. dalai guevara Avatar
    dalai guevara

    Battery storage solutions are not confined to the storing of electric load in high tech solutions, it is about storing surplus energy as and when it’s available in low tech solutions, in H20 perhaps.
    Heating with ice/ Eisheizeng developed in Austria and Germany is an alternative solution on a domestic scale available off the shelf today.

  3. Nigel Colhoun Avatar
    Nigel Colhoun

    What about hydrogen fuel cells also?

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