Fees being charged to interconnect residential storage systems to the grid in California are “arbitrary” and “punitive”, while some may even be illegal, according to US installer SolarCity.

Electrical storage has been much hyped as a key technology in the ongoing deployment of solar. But as Andy Colthorpe reports, with take-up of the technology so far only patchy, the coming year will be a crucial one for storage to prove its worth.

Japan has launched a subsidy programme to support the installation of lithium-ion battery-based stationary storage systems, offering to pay individuals and entities up to two-thirds of their purchase price.

Over two-thirds of German PV installers are now offering their customers energy storage options, while their British and Italian counterparts are beginning to follow suit, according to a new report from EuPD Research.

The International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) will host a workshop later this month aimed at kick-starting the production of a roadmap for the future deployment of energy storage.

The Rocky Mountain Institute has published a report which claims it could be possible, using PV coupled with storage, for portions of the USA to “defect” away from using grid networks entirely by 2030.

The US market for commercial energy storage will grow by the equivalent of 34% annually between 2014 and 2020, resulting in the deployment of over 720MW of distributed energy storage, according to a new report by GTM Research.

The coming of energy storage to electricity markets is “inevitable”, according to Eric Carlson, senior director of grid systems integration storage at US solar energy provider SolarCity.

Neither commercial-scale nor energy storage have yet take off in the US. But as Felicity Carus reports, this could be about change as companies eye opportunities in both segments.