Solar + Storage = The Future of Both Industries
The growth trend in both the energy storage market and the solar market puts solar-plus-storage in a market sweet spot. IMS Research indicates that the market for storing power from solar panels will grow to $19 billion by the end of this year.
Energy storage installation is expected to expand rapidly from 6 gigawatts in 2017 to more than 40 gigawatts by 2022 according to the Energy Storage Association, and the industry is expected to be worth nearly $11 billion by 2022. The solar industry has also experienced a boom as the United States solar market added 2,044 megawatts of new capacity in the first quarter of 2017.
More and more solar-plus- storage projects are starting all over the U.S., largely due to the fact that lithium-ion prices are dropping and customers now feel more comfortable with the technology. Thus, according to GreenTech Media, energy storage has become the "Darling of the Solar Industry." The main benefit of solar-plus-storage is its ability to maximize the benefits of intermittent resources such as solar and wind power.
Residential + Solar + Storage
Homeowners benefit from solar-plus- storage because it saves them more money than either system can by themselves, and it reduces their carbon footprint that much more as well. As prices drop, more residential customers will install solar-plus- storage systems in their homes to take advantage of these benefits. Residential energy storage is expected to growth exponentially from 95 megawatts in 2016 to 3,773 megawatts by 2025.
The installed price of residential solar-plus- storage systems has already dropped 25 to 30 percent over the last two to three years, according to Ravi Manghani, director of energy storage for GTM Research. In addition, he says that consumers can realize additional cost reductions when they take advantage of state and federal incentives.
Utilities + Solar + Storage
Solar-plus- storage can make utilities more productive and help them maximize revenues. For example, demand for electricity can increase when consumers utilize solar-plus- storage technology. This demand reduces the need for new fossil fuel facilities, leading to an environmental benefit as well.
In addition, utilities can contract with their customers to draw power from their batteries when the grid needs it, thus lowering energy costs for all stakeholders and protecting against the environmental consequences of burning more fossil fuels to generate energy. More utilities will start to take advantage of solar-plus- storage as prices for utility-scale systems decrease. In fact, one manufacturer says that solar paired with energy storage can be supplied to utilities at a cost of 10 cents per kilowatt-hour.
WISE systems are perfect for solar contractors who wish to offer their customers the benefits of solar-plus- storage in residential, commercial, and industrial applications. That’s because it utilizes Internet of Things (IoT) technology to allow your customers to manage their energy storage and usage to meet their exact needs while remaining completely in control of the process.
WISE Partners and Master Licensees have the exclusive rights to manufacture, sell, and install WISE technology. Visit WillCoEnergy.com for more information.