Germany Hits World Solar-Plus-Storage High

Germany Sets a New Solar Storage Record

July 18, 2016 (Energy Collective)

“Germany’s 1.5 million photovoltaic installations provide a generation capacity of 40 gigawatts (GW), four times the 10.8 GW base-load nuclear fleet that is being decommissioned in legislated stages between the end of 2017 and 2022…[S]olar power has a particular advantage over centralised nuclear generation, in that it needs no long-distance transmission to serve local markets…[But there is overall grid congestion and, in response, the] German government has now announced restrictions on additional renewable capacities…[T]here is another way of addressing grid congestion: by increasing local storage for subsequent usage…Fully autonomous off-grid solar systems are expensive, but partial storage in grid-connected systems provides improved economy for both homeowners and power utilities. The Renewable Energy Storage Subsidy Program of the KfW Development Bank arranges low-interest federal loans and payback assistance covering up to 25% of the required investment outlays. KfW has determined that 41% of Germany’s new solar installations in 2015 included battery storage, compared with less than 14% the previous year. This level of adoption likely constitutes a world record for dedicated solar storage…” click here for more

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