Markets

Germany Installs 100,000 Solar Storage Systems

With regulatory and financial support, German’s battery storage market has expanded quickly while prices have come down quickly, according to BSW-Solar’s Carsten Körnig. Pictured is Parliamentary Economic State Secretary Thomas Bareiß at the commissioning of the 100, 000thsolar energy storage systemin the country. (Photo Credit: BSW-Solar)

Anu Bhambhani
  • Germany's solar lobby association BSW-Solar says the country has achieved the mark of 100,000 solar energy storage systems
  • The 100,000thsystem was commissioned by Thomas Bareiß, Parliamentary State Secretary to the Federal Minister of Economics and Energy, in Eichwalde, outside Berlin
  • BSW-Solar says every second new PV system in the country is now being built with energy storage component

Once the world's largest market for solar PV installations, Germany has achieved a new global milestone – it has installed 100,000 solar energy storage systems in the country. German solar trade association BSW-Solar on August 28, 2018 announced the 100,000thsolar energy storage system was commissioned in Eichwalde, outside Berlin.

BSW says every second new PV system is now being built with a storage component in Germany. It is hopeful that the next milestone of 200,000 solar batteries will be reached within 2 years.

"Thanks to the encouraging willingness of many citizens to invest, the innovative strength of the industry and the market incentive program launched five years ago by the German government, the prices for solar energy storage could be greatly reduced and the performance of the systems expanded," said BSW Managing Director Carsten Körnig.

The installation was officially inaugurated byThomas Bareiß, Parliamentary State Secretary to the Federal Minister of Economics and Energy, who spoke during a ceremony that flexible solutions such as battery storage are playing an important role in the future of energy security in the country. In the past, Bareiß had made himself a name as a critic of solar power in Germany.

Not only storage flourishes in Germany, PV deployment has picked up pace as well in the country, which installed a total of 1.36 GW of new capacity in the first half of 2018, compared to 901 MW installed in the same period a year back (see Very Strong Growth In Germany In H1/2018).