Storage will accelerate solar deployment

The Renewable Energy Association has called on the next UK government to encourage the development of energy storage and the further deployment of renewables.

The organisation highlighted two recent reports, by Deutsche Bank and Wood Mackenzie, which set out the improved technological efficiency and falling costs associated with solar PV. Both reports predict that solar will play a crucial role in countries across the world in the coming years.

Deutsche Bank described storage as the “missing link of solar adoption” and said that solar plus storage could significantly accelerate global solar penetration. The bank believes that the industry will begin deploying storage on a large scale within the next five years.

In particular, there is a clear economic rationale for commercial scale battery deployment, the report suggests.

“Commercial customers are often subject to demand based charges, which can account for as much as half of the electric bill in some months. We think companies with differentiated battery solutions coupled with intelligent software and predictive analytics that work with the grid to avoid these charges and smooth electric demand will pave the way for mass adoption,” the bank said.

Deutsche Bank also expects utilities to pursue energy storage on a large scale as battery costs continue to drop and more renewable/intermittent power sources like solar panels and wind turbines are connected to the grid.

Dr Nina Skorupska, chief executive of the the Renewable Energy Association, commented.”For the UK, solar with storage can provide a secure source of renewable energy that can be deployed in quantity faster than nuclear.

“In light of the findings of these reports, we call on the next British government to encourage the ongoing deployment of solar and development of storage which could be viable in the UK as early as 2017 by levelling the regulatory playing field for developers, in particular through ensuring sufficient support is forthcoming to ensure a viable industry is in place when grid parity is reached.”

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