China is leading the battery storage installation race, followed by Europe, the United States, and Australia. •Battery storage costs have fallen significantly in recent years, making it a more affordable option for wind and solar generators. •Subsidies are crucial for the wider adoption of battery storage.
From OILPRICE.COM
Battery storage installations last year reached 2,400 GWh. That represented a quadrupling of capacity over four years and was a testament to the growing popularity of battery storage as countries build ever more wind and solar generation systems.
The International Energy Agency reported last month that battery costs had fallen by as much as $90 since 2010, making battery storage a much more affordable option for wind and solar generators. Yet battery storage still remains expensive in absolute terms, which makes subsidies crucial for its wider adoption.
Unsurprisingly, the biggest battery storage adopters geographically tend to be countries with substantial wind and solar buildouts. Here are the leaders in the battery storage space.
#1 China
China installed a whopping 34.5 GW of new battery storage last year—representing most of the total global additions in this space, which came in at 40 GW. Growth has continued strong this year as well. However, forecasts are for a slowdown on a full-year basis in 2024, to 30.1 GW. That’s according to the China Energy Storage Alliance, which also said that in an ideal case, installations could grow by 19% this year from last to 42.1 GW.
That ideal case, however, would have to involve significantly improved profitability for battery storage installations. According to unnamed industry sources who spoke to Reuters recently, battery storage is not a popular business path because they have high upfront costs, which reduces overall profitability—despite the consistent decline in costs that the IEA talked about in its report.
#2 Europe
European countries saw their combined battery storage capacity increase by 10 GW last year, which was more than three times less new storage than installed in China but still more than what was installed in the United States.
#3 United States
The United States saw its total battery storage capacity, including operational and planned, reach some 16 GW at the end of last year, per data from the Energy Information Administration.
#4 Australia
Australia gained attention for its battery industry several years ago as the place where Elon Musk said he would build the world’s largest battery installation ever.