Dive Brief:
-
Residential energy storage is booming in Germany, hitting $149 million in 2015, well ahead of most other developed nations, according to a new report from GTM Research.
-
On the commercial and industrial side of energy storage, however, Germany lags with only $7 million, falling far behind countries such as the U.S. German investment in utility scale storage, at $13 billion, also pales in comparison with residential storage.
-
The sharp divide between large and small energy storage systems in Germany can be seen as a result of the structure incentives and price signals specific to the German markets, according to GTM Research.
Dive Insight:
Germany generates about 30% of its electricity from renewable resources, which makes it a prime target for energy storage. While its residential energy storage market is poised to grow, its C&I sector still lags behind.
Part of the explanation lies in the fact that Germany can export its unneeded renewable power the neighboring countries, but most of the explanation can be accounted for by German energy policies and incentives, GTM noted.
Residential electricity rates have increased 47% in German since 2006 while feed-in tariffs paid for residential solar have fallen. That increases incentives for homeowners to use storage to be able to store and consume more of the renewable energy they produce. “That’s the main value stream that customers are pursuing in Germany,” Brett Simon, GTM Research energy storage analyst, told Greentech Media.
Simon also noted another “possible avenue” for C&I storage expansion: virtual power plants (VPP) that aggregate distributed, behind-the-meter resources and bid them into electricity markets. VPPs usually offer reduced cost electricity in exchange for access to their generation.
Sonnenbatterie, a German-based energy storage developer looking to compete against Tesla Motors in American markets, developed such a model in with a small utility in Germany.