Germany’s Energy Storage Incentive To Start May 1

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We covered Germany’s coming energy storage incentive back in February. At the time, an official announcement was expected a week later. A couple months later, the incentive seems to be fully determined and is set to start on May 1.

As reported in February, the focus is on battery storage technology for solar PV systems. For year one, €25 million is being set aside. The money is going to be dished out by German state bank KfW, which just announced a record profit of €2.4 billion (yes, billion with a ‘b’) for last fiscal year.

“The state bank will provide the financing, thus initially covering the necessary funds for the support program. Overall, the funding program is expected to run for two years; €25 million should also be made available in 2014,” PV Magazine writes.

“From May 1, the purchase of new battery storage for photovoltaic systems will be subsidized up to €660/kW of solar power, said Germany’s solar industry association, BSW-Solar, in a statement released. Plant operators can apply for financial support for photovoltaic projects that are installed in 2013 and have a maximum capacity of 30 kW.”

Here are some more rules: The incentives can cover about 30% of the battery costs. The “soft loans” can be for 5, 10, or 20 years. The PV power plant that the battery system supports must send at least 60% of its power capacity to the grid — a requirement that sticks throughout the course of the power plant’s life. And, lastly, the battery systems granted these incentives must have a guarantee of at least seven years.

The policy certainly doesn’t seem to leave room for manipulation, and its targeted use seems pretty clear.

Thoughts?