Sonnen calls for storage tax breaks not subsidies

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

May 8, 2026
Independent power producer (IPP) Innergex and system integrator Prevalon Energy have energised the San Andrés II battery energy storage system (BESS) in Chile.
Premium
May 8, 2026
Leading European BESS owner-operators discuss the roles of subsidy schemes, contract revenues and merchant approaches in helping the continent build out its BESS pipeline.
Premium
May 7, 2026
What are the system needs that LDES is going to solve, and what technologies are most appropriate for those applications?
Premium
May 6, 2026
We catch up with James Mills, managing director of UK BESS investor Adaptogen Capital, about UK market dynamics, its expansion into Europe, and BESS capex in 2026 and beyond.
May 6, 2026
US renewable energy developer, Longroad Energy’s Sun Pond solar-plus-storage project in Maricopa County, Arizona, US has reached commercial operation.