The German electricity system as it stands could cope with four times as much solar power being installed without any major difficulties – if energy storage is properly integrated.
According to a study by Agora Energiewende, a scenario of 150 gigawatts of solar capacity in combination with 40 gigawatts of battery storage presented no issues for the country’s electricity infrastructure.
Scenarios of 150 or 200 gigawatts of photovoltaics in Germany, which until recently were considered by many to be completely unrealistic, are not only technically feasible but also economically viable says Dr. Patrick Graichen, director of Agora Energiewende.
Dr. Graichen recommends German energy policy should be further refined to accommodate a boom in solar + storage. He also questions the need for high-voltage lines on the current network development plan past 2025 if Germany’s energy storage revolution really kicks in as expected.
As it did with solar, Germany has also been an energy storage pioneer. The country initiated support for the purchase of battery storage integrated with home solar power systems in 2013. By December last year, more than 15,000 German households had home battery systems. It’s been estimated 100,000 residential energy storage units will be installed in 2018.
In the first seven months of 2015, German development bank KfW reportedly supported 35% more solar + storage projects than in the same period last year.
The Agora Energiewende study report (in German) can be viewed here.
According to the International Renewable Energy Agency’s (IRENA’s) Renewable Energy Capacity Statistics 2015 report, by the end of last year Germany had 38,236 MW of solar PV capacity installed – more than 9 times that of Australia.
However, with high per-capita uptake of solar panels and Australians suffering under the burden of high electricity prices plus reducing solar feed in tariffs, Australia is viewed as one of the most promising markets in the world for battery storage. Some of the world’s leading energy storage manufacturers, including Tesla and Enphase Energy, have chosen Australia to be among the first markets where their battery products will be made available.
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