Prices for Tesla’s stationary storage systems for homes, businesses and off-grid communities, to be packaged and sold in partnership with SolarCity, will begin at US$3,000, thought to be as little as a third of the price of comparable products previously available on the market.
Tesla is set to make an announcement on stationary storage battery systems that has kept the tech world watching with bated breath. The event takes place tonight at 8pm Pacific Time / 4am Greenwich Mean Time / 5am Central European Time.
Germany’s residential storage system maker Sonnenbatterie will continue its push into the US, partnering with Sungevity, the residential PV installer founded by environmental activist and cleantech entrepreneur Danny Kennedy.
The hotly anticipated announcement tomorrow of two products in the Tesla’s stationary storage range, teased and trailed by a series of cryptic and not-so-cryptic tweets and interview snippets, has led to mainstream media taking an interest in the stationary storage sector and what it could offer like no other news we’ve heard to date. And there hasn’t even been any actual news yet. Andy Colthorpe spoke to energy storage expert Cosmin Laslau at Lux Research, about what to expect.
Along with cost reductions in balance of systems (BoS) components and US$1 billion of investment, energy storage technologies can reduce the cost of commercial solar and drive the market segment forward in the US, a SolarCity spokesman has said.
Sonnenbatterie, considered to be one of the market leaders in Germany’s emerging solar-plus-storage sector, claims the new version of its Sonnenbatterie Eco battery storage system has as much as double the potential lifespan of previous models.
UK energy storage start-up Powervault has exceeded its £350,000 (US$500,000) crowd funding target as it looks to commercialise its ‘plug and play’ domestic storage device.
US provider of energy storage control systems and turnkey storage projects Greensmith has launched simulation and modelling software that the company claims will educate customers on decisions that can “make or break ROI (return on investment)”.
Solar power systems serving an oilfield in Qatar will be fitted with utility-scale energy storage batteries, helping to ensure the continuity of operations at 775 oil wells.
Kyocera is targeting the German market for self-consumed solar electricity, with the Japanese company preparing to launch a home energy storage system in May.
