Solar battery boom

Number of solar power storage systems grew by around 50 percent for the third year in a row – German Solar Association expects further market growth – Energy transition requires seven-fold increase in battery storage capacity by 2030 as necessary contribution to balancing short-term fluctua-tions in generation

Last year, the solar industry recorded a 47 percent increase in demand for solar batteries. At the same time, the number of solar power storage systems grew by around 50 percent for the third year in a row. This was announced by the Bundesverband Solarwirtschaft e.V. (BSW), in which leading suppliers of solar storage systems are organized alongside the solar industry.

Last year, the storage market benefited from the fact that twice as many homeowners purchased a photovoltaic system as in the previous year. Around one in two of them also invested in a solar battery in order to be able to use the solar power they generate themselves around the clock, increasingly also for charging electric cars. According to BSW estimates, around 88,000 new home storage systems were installed in Germany last year in the private home sector alone. Overall, the stock of solar electricity storage units thus increased to around 270,000 units (see chart).

“We expect that the demand for storage will continue to increase,” BSW CEO Carsten Körnig is confident. In addition to the necessity of energy policy, lower prices, a growing awareness of climate protection and an increased need for independence on the part of consumers would contribute to this.

According to calculations by market researchers, the current battery storage capacity will have to be increased almost sevenfold by 2030, from the current 2.4 gigawatt hours (GWh) to around 18 GWh, in order to implement climate targets, ensure that green electricity is provided in line with demand and compensate for short-term fluctuations in solar and wind energy generation due to weather conditions and time of day. As a result, the annual market for stationary battery storage will double by 2025, and is expected to increase fivefold by the end of the decade, according to BSW expectations.

Solar power storage systems are also becoming increasingly interesting for companies. According to BSW, this is likely to be helped by the fact that since the beginning of the year, three times more solar power may be consumed by the company itself without operators of solar power systems having to pay an EEG surcharge for it. In the spirit of the energy turnaround, the “solar tax” exemption limit was raised by the German government from 10 to 30 megawatt hours per year at the instigation of the association at the turn of the year.

This also simplifies the storage retrofitting of solar power plants that are no longer eligible for EEG subsidies after 20 years. According to Körnig, it is most economical for operators of these de-subsidized Ü20 plants to consume as many kilowatt-hours as possible of their depreciated solar power plants themselves. According to the BSW, around half a million solar power systems will no longer be subsidized by 2030.

To achieve the necessary further acceleration of storage expansion and the intelligent use of these storage capacities to stabilize the power grid, BSW is advocating further legislative reforms. This includes, among other things, a consistent reduction of competition-distorting double charging of prosumers with fees, surcharges and levies for electricity stored in and withdrawn from the grid.
Free and company-independent information about solar batteries is available to consumers at www.die-sonne-speichern.de. This also includes a link to a short information film illustrating the technology and contacts to the solar trade.

The German Solar Association has represented the interests of the German solar and storage industry for over 40 years.