Power Storage Market 2024: Upsurge in Large Batteries, Decline in PV Storage Capacity

In the bustling realm of Germany's stationary battery storage, continuous growth is the name of the game. An initial annual report by the German Solar Industry Federation (BSW-Solar) reveals a significant leap in the power storage market for 2024. As the numbers show, approximately 580,000 new battery storage systems were commissioned by investors throughout the year. This includes residential, commercial, and large-scale storage, mirroring the previous year’s fresh installations.

In 2024, both the quantity and capacity of all solar storage units installed in Germany surged by nearly 50 percent. By year's end, over 1.8 million storage units with a combined capacity of around 19 Gigawatt hours (GWh) were up and running, according to the federation's projections. However, this could only theoretically accommodate the average daily electricity consumption of more than two million 2-person households in Germany.

Photovoltaic System Plus Battery Storage: The New Norm

"Combining photovoltaic installations on rooftops with storage units has transitioned from a luxury to a norm. Not only does an intelligent storage operation trim down electricity costs for operators, but it also eases stress on electric networks and trims down the costs of the energy transformation," remarks Carsten Körnig, Chief Executive of the German Solar Industry Federation. He appreciates the recent agreement in the German parliament between the SPD, the Greens, and the CDU/CSU parliamentary group on dismantling market barriers for more flexible use of storage.

Körnig also expresses satisfaction at the increase in not just small, private PV storage systems but also commercial storage and large-scale Megawatt class storages. The year 2024 saw double the large-scale storage capability installed compared to the previous year. The addition of large-scale storage is expected to accelerate over the coming years, with market forecasts predicting a fivefold increment in the installed storage capacity of large batteries in the next two years.

To achieve further growth in solar and wind energy, which are known for their weather-dependent production, further robust expansion in storage is widely recommended by energy experts.

"Storages are the quickest, most economical, and most effective tool for integrating solar energy into the power market and the electricity grid. Quick expansion of storage capacities holds the key to successful energy transformation," states Körnig. Looking forward, he aspires for an elimination of market barriers, expedited approval procedures, and due consideration of storage's role in forthcoming modifications of power market design and network charges.

2024 Power Storage Market: Additional Highlights

The total number of solar home storage systems sprang up by around 580,000 to approximately 1.8 million last year. This comprises PV storage in homes with a combined capacity around 15.4 GWh.

Even though new installed home storage capacity reflected a slight decline of seven percent in 2024 after many strong growth years, the newly installed capacity of commercial storage showed a clear growth of 26 percent. Consequently, the number of commercial storage devices set up in Germany all rose by more than 60 percent within one year to over 38,000 storage units, constituting a total storage capacity of nearly 1.4 GWh.

Large-scale storage units, each possessing a capacity greater than 1 MWh, are currently witnessing the highest growth dynamics. Approximately 100 new large-scale storage units with a combined capacity of around 0.8 GWh were commissioned in 2024. This signified a doubling of the previous year's expansion (0.3 GWh), bringing the total installed large-scale storage capacity to nearly 2.3 GWh.

All outlined yearly preliminaries are based on data evaluated from the Market Master Data Register of the Federal Network Agency (BNetzA), as well as anticipated late registrations from previous years. It is expected that additional late registrations for the past year will be submitted at the BNetzA even after the cut-off date of the conducted register evaluation on January 23. In a comparable period the previous year, these late registrations covered 11 percent of home storage devices, 19 percent of commercial storage, and 7 percent of large-scale storage devices at BNetzA. This market behavior spotted in previous years contributes to current BSW-Solar projections.