Sonnen calls for storage tax breaks not subsidies

October 5, 2016
LinkedIn
Twitter
Reddit
Facebook
Email

Tax breaks and greater efforts by industry to engage consumers should be used to grow the storage market in place of government subsidy, according to sonnen’s UK director.

Martin Allman said alternative methods should be employed. “The bottom line is that if the subsidy was there then it would help the industry to grow, without a doubt. I don’t think there will be a subsidy though so I think what would be great for the government would be to get behind it and enable the industry to grow.”

Speaking at Clean Energy Live UK, Allman said: “Things like tax breaks are more realistic to be achieved or looking at industry bodies to get engaged and drive forward energy storage and make it easy and accessible for consumers to use and to understand. Reduced VAT would be useful for those people who have already got PV installed and the next step is to increase their self-consumption,” he suggested.

The UK has emerged as one of the German company’s core markets in Europe, with sonnen planning to ramp up the sales of its domestic eco 8 energy storage devices to 100 per month. This solution, on show at sonnen’s stand, has been the key UK focus for the company since it began installing the devices here at the end of July.

This article requires Premium SubscriptionBasic (FREE) Subscription

Try Premium for just $1

  • Full premium access for the first month at only $1
  • Converts to an annual rate after 30 days unless cancelled
  • Cancel anytime during the trial period

Premium Benefits

  • Expert industry analysis and interviews
  • Digital access to PV Tech Power journal
  • Exclusive event discounts

Or get the full Premium subscription right away

Or continue reading this article for free

13 October 2026
London, UK
Now in its second edition, the Summit provides a dedicated platform for UK & Ireland’s BESS community to share practical insights on performance, degradation, safety, market design and optimisation strategies. As storage deployment accelerates towards 2030 targets, attendees gain the tools needed to enhance returns and operate resilient, efficient assets.

Read Next

March 12, 2026
In this US news roundup, we have financing updates for GridStor, Arevon, and Primergy, related to energy storage projects in Texas, California, and Nevada, respectively.
March 11, 2026
Energy firm RWE added 2GW to its US operating capacity in 2025, bringing its total operational capacity to nearly 13GW across the country.
Premium
March 9, 2026
Energy-Storage.news speaks with Isshu Kikuma, energy storage analyst at BloombergNEF (BNEF), ahead of the upcoming Energy Storage Summit USA.
March 5, 2026
Developer Avantus has closed a financing package of over US$300 million for the 100MWac/130MWdc solar, 400MWh BESS Kitt Solar and Energy Storage Project in Pinal County, Arizona, US.
Premium
March 5, 2026
Energy-Storage.news Premium speaks with Claire McConnell, VP business development for Redwood Materials’ energy storage business, Redwood Energy, about its recent backing from Google and Nvidia, and what it has planned next.