#StorageIsHere: Like Solar, Storage Has Only Started To Hit Its Stride
Like the panels that harness the sun’s rays, the batteries that store its energy can support the reliability of solar electricity. Efficient and affordable energy storage strengthens solar’s capacity to power homes from dusk to dawn, and may be the keystone needed for its proliferation.
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Thankfully, the U.S. energy storage market is growing fast. Â
In 2013, Standard Solar and SunEdison installed one of the nation’s first commercial-scale solar-plus-storage systems at a commercial site in Maryland. The storage component supplemented the expansive solar arrays by protecting the facility from power outages.
Fast forward to 2015, the U.S. energy storage market saw a remarkable 243 percent growth, according to a recent report by GTM Research and the Energy Storage Association (ESA). In fact, there was more energy storage capacity deployed in just one quarter of 2015 (112 megawatts) than in 2013 and 2014 combined (106 megawatts).
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“We can look back at 2015 as the year when energy storage really took off,” said GTM Research Energy Storage Analyst Ravi Manghani in the report’s press release.
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By 2020, total energy storage capacity is expected to reach 1.7 gigawatts, an eightfold increase from 2015, and will have a $2.5 billion market value.Â
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“Energy storage is changing the paradigm on how we generate, distribute and use energy” added ESA Executive Director Matt Roberts. “With exponential growth predicted over the next couple of years, energy storage solutions will deliver smarter, more dynamic energy services, address peak demand challenges and enable the expanded use of renewable generation like wind and solar. The net result will be a more resilient and flexible grid infrastructure that benefits American businesses and consumers.”
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The sharp increase in projected capacity is due in part to the extensions of the solar investment tax credit (ITC)Â and the wind production tax credit (PTC). The report estimates an additional 500 megawatts of storage paired with renewables will be deployed between 2016 and 2020 because of the extensions.
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In fact, just this month residential solar company Sunrun introduced a solar energy storage solution to Hawaii homeowners, called BrightBox. Once established, Sunrun anticipates being able to offer this integrated model to more homeowners in other U.S. regions. Â
The Department of Energy also allotted $18 million to fund six new integrated PV and storage projects earlier this year. Overseen by the U.S. Energy Department’s Grid Modernization and SunShot Initiatives, the projects’ aim to improve energy storage capacity for solar systems and work toward fulfilling customers’ demands for round-the-clock clean energy. Â