Around 4,000 energy storage battery systems to accompany solar power systems have been purchased in Germany since the introduction of subsidies in May 2013.
SolarServer reports the German Solar Industry Association (BSW-Solar) says along with the German government subsidies, low interest financing from development bank KfW is making energy storage combined with PV a practical investment.
“With the state covering a portion of the acquisition cost, solar power storage has become very affordable for home or commercial use,” said BSW-Solar Managing Director Jörg Mayer; who also states anyone considering installing a system up to 30kW in Germany should “definitely consider energy storage”.
The subsidy provides up to €660 (around AUD$966 at current exchange rates) per kilowatt of solar panels; to a maximum of 30kW.
Where the Germans lead in renewable energy, the world tends to follow. However, the prospect of energy storage subsidies in Australia look rather grim for the foreseeable future given what appears to be a very anti-renewables government in power for now.
Still, uptake supported by more forward-thinking governments elsewhere could translate to lower prices for energy storage in Australia in the future.
In other news from Germany, renewables generated a new record contribution to the country’s energy supply last Sunday; with wind, solar, biomass and hydro accounting for 74 per cent of demand in the middle of the day.
While renewables in Germany continue to move forward, coal and gas are having a hard time there – and also elsewhere in Europe. Reuters reports Austrian utility Verbund said it would mothball or close its unprofitable gas and coal-fired power plants in Austria and France; partly due to Germany’s love affair with renewables.
Verbund isn’t the first to close coal and gas fired plants in Europe as a result of the impact of renewable energy – and a recent series of reports from Citigroup predict darker days ahead for fossil fuel based power generators.
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