The forecast for household solar continues to look bright for coming years, with European solar & storage set to grow over 400%, from 3 GWh installed storage capacity in 2020 to 12.8 GWh in 2025. Analysing the synergy between residential solar and batteries, new figures show that European residential solar & storage soared by 44% to 140,000 installed units in 2020. This marks the first time more than 100,000 storage systems were installed in Europe in a 12-month period, with annual installation capacity also reaching GWh scale first time, and setting a new milestone in the European energy transition.

Written as the continent struggled through the Autumn/Winter 2021 energy price crisis, the report demonstrates the cost-effectiveness of installing storage to support residential solar. During 2020 in Germany, households installing premium solar & storage systems benefitted from a Levelized Cost of Electricity of 12.2 EUR cents/kWh – nearly one third of the typical electricity price.

The popularity of batteries in supporting residential solar is most striking in Germany, which was responsible for 70% of the newly installed storage capacity. The Top 5 markets together, Germany, Italy, UK, Austria, and Switzerland, installed 93% of new European solar & storage.

Walburga Hemetsberger, CEO of SolarPower Europe said, “As the popularity of residential solar increases, more households are realising that domestic storage systems will maximize the value of their solar PV systems. While Europe is increasingly affected by gas-related energy price shocks, solar and storage is the clear answer to volatile energy prices.”

Hemetsberger continues, “Combining solar & storage is key to achieving a climate-neutral EU by 2050. Not only will it enable the EU to increase the share of renewables, but importantly, solar & storage will supply reliable, clean, and cost-effective energy to homes and businesses during peak times. National policymakers must recognise this immense potential and significantly feature distributed storage in the revision of their National Energy and Climate Plans.”

Michael Schmela, Head of Market Intelligence at SolarPower Europe said, “The EU Clean Energy Package offers Member States clear solutions to facilitate a Europe-wide BESS roll-out. If we want to see the residential battery market develop beyond the first few key countries, and help protect citizens from rising energy prices, more European governments need to move faster to fully implement the Clean Energy Package.”

Schmela continues, “To ensure we can accommodate the forecasted uptake of solar & storage, while maximising the value of its flexibility potential, we must reinforce and modernise power grids. Participative and regular grid planning exercises must be conducted at transmission and distribution level, and system operators must provide transparency on current and future system needs.”

Raffaele Rossi, Senior Policy Analyst at SolarPower Europe said, “To meet future green energy needs, and realise the potential of solar & storage, Europe must develop a future-proof EU Battery Regulation which supports the competitiveness of strategic industrial sectors, and avoids burdening manufacturers or dissuading investors. It is crucial to establish sustainability and quality frameworks for battery requirements – but any framework must avoid distortive effects on markets.”

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