Global energy storage to hit 125 GW by 2030, BNEF finds

Dive Brief:

Energy storage capacity around the world is about to experience a sharp increase, according to analysis from Bloomberg New Energy Finance, reaching 125 GW/305 GWh by 2030.
Between 2016 and 2030, the firm expects global investment in excess of $100 billion, spread equally across several regions of the world. The rapid growth is expected to be similar to solar's rise from 2000 to 2015.
However, just eight countries will lead the charge and install 70% of the anticipated capacity: the United States, China, Japan, India, Germany, U.K., Australia and South Korea.

Dive Insight:

Falling energy storage costs combined with a need to integrate more renewable energy will fuel explosive growth worldwide, according to BNEF's new analysis. Both utility-scale and behind-the-meter installations will be a "crucial source of flexibility" in the next 15 years, the firm predicts.

Yayoi Sekine, BNEF energy storage analyst and the report's lead author, says the growth of storage capacity is an essential part of the grid modernization efforts taking place around the world.

"The industry has just begun," Sekine said in a statement. "With so much investment going into battery technology, falling costs and with significant addition of wind and solar capacity in all markets, energy storage will play a crucial part in the energy transformation."

In total, BNEF expects $103 billion to be invested by 2030, "spread roughly equally across the Americas, Asia Pacific and Europe, Middle East and Africa regions."

While particular estimates vary, growth in storage capacity is widely anticipated. Earlier this month, the Energy Storage Association said it expects 35 GW of new energy storage systems to be online by 2025.

Navigant Research and ESA in a new white paper outlined market drivers behind the rapid growth of energy storage and the value of a “disruption-proof grid.” The paper argues that widespread use of energy storage could result in $4 billion in cumulative operational grid savings and the potential for more than 167,000 new jobs.

The first quarter of this year was among the largest ever for the bourgeoning resource. GTM Research and ESA estimated there were 71 MW of storage projects deployed in the first quarter— a 276% increase over Q1 2016 and the second highest quarter since teh two organizations began tracking energy storage. The total was surpassed only by installations in fourth quarter 2016, they said.

Despite falling costs, storage is still a small part of the total U.S. market, with all storage installations composing only about 0.5 GW.