Large-scale battery storage in Germany set to increase five-fold within 2 years – report

The number of large-scale battery storage projects in Germany will increase rapidly over the next two years, the country’s solar industry association BSW said. Around seven gigawatt hours of new storage capacity will be added by 2026 to the 1.8 gigawatt hours (GWh) of capacity already installed in large storage facilities exceeding 1 megawatt connected load, said the lobby group following a market analysis it commissioned from energy consultancy Enervis.

“The expansion of large-scale storage systems is being driven primarily by the increasing dynamics of the electricity market and the price difference between low and high wholesale electricity prices,” BSW said. “This business model makes it possible for storage systems to shift cheap solar power from times of high generation to times of high electricity demand without additional subsidies.”

According to BSW data, more than 80 percent of smaller photovoltaic rooftop systems are already being installed in combination with battery storage systems. A total of 1.51 million home storage systems with a combined capacity of 13 GWh were installed in Germany by the end of June. In addition, there was 1.1 GWh of commercial battery storage capacity and 1.8 GWh of large-scale storage capacity. In total, almost 16 GWh of storage capacity was installed in Germany at the end of the first half of 2024, BSW said.

Alongside green hydrogen, large battery storage facilities are seen as a key technology for completing the transformation of Germany’s energy system to renewable power as they are needed to stabilise the grid at times of little wind or sunshine.