2015: A banner year for energy storage
Energy storage hit many milestones in 2015 and reached its highest level of deployment to date
Energy storage is shaping up to have its strongest year ever in what could be a turning point for the technology and the industry.
As of the third quarter, 108 MW (94 MWh) of energy storage was deployed in 2015, compared with 38 MW (65 MWh) installed during the same period in 2014, according to a new report from GTM Research.
At that pace, GTM estimates energy storage installations will hit 192 MW this year, triple the amount of storage put in place in 2014.
“It’s definitely been a banner year,” Brett Simon, energy storage analyst at GTM Research, said. “Prices are continuing to decline and the use cases for storage are becoming better understood.”
Behind-the-meter boom
The biggest gains to date in 2015 have been in behind-the-meter installations. According to GTM, the behind-the-meter market grew over 16 times larger than the same period last year.
The iconic development in that market, though probably not a root cause, was Tesla Motors introduction in May of its Powerwall battery that is aimed at the residential market, particularly homes with solar panels and/or electric vehicles.
Tesla’s high media profile served to put battery storage into the mainstream spotlight, and is commonly referred to in the industry as the day storage “went mainstream.” It also broke the dam and was soon followed by a flood of competitors moving quickly to stake their claim in the burgeoning market.
