$US1 billion energy storage market predicted for Germany by 2021

Already a world leader in renewable energies, Germany is expected to see a substantial growth in its energy storage market, according to GTM Research’s new report The German Energy Storage Market: 2016-2021.

By the end of 2015, there was already 67MW of energy storage installed, and by the end of 2016 a further 161MW of energy storage is expected to be added, but this, according to the report, is just the tip of the iceberg. The report predicts the market to grow 11-fold to an annual value of $1.03 billion by 2021.

Residential energy storage for self-consumption has the largest market share, and a number of factors are causing the perfect storm for the market to grow at an exponential rate. The report highlighted a declining feed-in-tariff, high electricity prices – an increase of 47% since 2006 for residential customers – and a large array of installed renewables, as the biggest drivers for market growth in Germany.

“Germany already possesses one of the world’s largest residential energy storage markets,” commented GTM Research Energy Storage Analyst and author of the report Brett Simon. “A plethora of factors, including declining feed-in-tariffs, high electricity prices, and the KfW 275 program, are fueling substantial interest in residential energy storage for self-consumption.”

The KfW 275 program is a scheme set up by the government, whereby it will cover a certain amount of the cost of the energy storage system, provided that it is paired with a new or existing solar installation. At current levels 22% of the cost is covered, but this will reduce 3% every six months.

This program is likely to have been one of the driving factors for the huge increase in battery system installations alongside new residential PV installations in Germany. At Intersolar Europe 2016 in June, pv magazine heard reports that 50% to 70% of all new residential systems installed in Germany today are having energy storage systems installed alongside them.

Non-residential energy storage and utility-scale energy storage is not expected to experience the same growth as the residential market. Utility-scale energy storage in particular did not see any significant installations until 2016, but the report forecasted that this growth should temper off by the end of 2017.

On a more global scene, industry analysts IHS released a report that forecasted grid-tied energy storage worldwide would double in 2016. The report stated that it expects grid-tied energy storage to go from 1.4 GWh to 2.9 GWh in 2016, eventually reaching 21 GWh by 2025.

Source: PV Magazine. Reproduced with permission.