US energy storage had a fairly quiet period in the third quarter of this year deploying just 16.4MW/31.4MWh but enjoyed a record quarterly sum of US$660 million of corporate investment.
Energy storage in the US is being propelled forward by falling costs and increasingly favourable markets and policy. But for the full value of storage to be realised, numerous regulatory and fiscal barriers must still be surmounted, writes Matt Roberts.
Storage provider Stem adds US$100 million to its kitty of project funds, as energy investor Starwood Energy backs its roll out of intelligent storage for commercial venues.
New research predicts the energy storage market in Germany will increase 11-fold in the next five years, with the residential market buoyed by declining feed-in tariffs, high electricity prices and €30 million in subsidies, while the primary reserve market boosts activity within the utilities sector.
Commercial energy storage economics are attractive today in seven US states, but according to GTM Research’s latest report, that number is to increase to 19 states by 2021, as storage costs continue to fall.
The California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) issued a decision that reforms its Self-Generation Incentive Programme (SGIP) to provide US$83 million a year until 2019 for behind-the-meter technologies, not least, energy storage.