Majority Of US Solar Installers Don’t Offer Storage Solutions, Study Finds
In spite of the growing call by distributed energy enthusiasts for solar-generated electricity storage options, a recent study finds two-thirds of US solar installers do not even offer or explore storage options.
According to pv-magazine, a study by EuPD Research shows only 34% of US PV installers offer storage solutions to customers. The majority of PV installers cite cost concerns as a reason for not exploring storage solutions.
The report added that about 26% of these installers who are not offering storage right now hope to offer storage options in their portfolios this year.
Two prominent storage companies are German-based Sonnen and California-based Tesla. Battery cost and performance are regarded as issues halting more widespread interest from consumers.
EuPD Research’s latest PV Installer Survey USA 2015/16 revealed that only one-third of installers already offer energy storage to US homeowners or businesses looking to adopt solar power.
Of the two-thirds that do not, 38% said that current pricing of batteries hinders demand, meaning margins are too low for installers and the “technological maturity” of the systems on the market is not currently convincing.
The survey asked 302 installers across 42 US states for opinions on the current state of the storage market. Trojan was found to be the most popular battery brand for solar+storage installations. The Tesla Powerwall scored top marks for “unaided brand awareness.”
For the majority of installers, the EuPD Research survey found the most important metric to look for when opting for an energy storage brand is guarantee conditions and ease of installation. The Tesla Powerwall is regarded as a frontrunner on these two points, with installers in the US and elsewhere reporting that installation was relatively quick and easy.
Then there is the cost hurdle, which stands as the leading barrier to wider battery storage adoption.
For the US alone, GTM Research shows the storage market more than tripled in 2015, growing 241% – or 221 MW – for the year, spurred by pro-storage policies in many leading solar states, as well as incremental price decreases for leading battery technologies, particularly lithium-ion.
Utilities are closely following the development of the storage market, especially as it pertains to independent owners of distributed energy solar systems.
UtilityDIVE recently featured this headline: “Should utilities be afraid of Sonnen’s new community storage offering?”
Writer Peter Maloney penned this perspective: “No threat to a traditional utility business model would seem to be more clearly defined than the prospect of a community installing a combination of solar panels and storage in order to become independent from the utility grid, or at least substantially reduce demand.”
Solar power system on residential building via Shutterstock
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