In 2019, some 745 MWh of purely residential battery energy storage capacity, from 96,000 systems, was installed, representing a 57% annual growth rate from the previous year. This is the finding of the first European Market Outlook on Residential Battery Storage 2020–2024, from European trade body SolarPower Europe.
The foundation for the European residential BESS sector was laid by a handful of countries, the report says, where a large residential solar market already, exists – namely Germany, Italy, UK, Austria, and Switzerland. Those top 5 markets absorbed over 90% of all BESS installations in 2019 and are also responsible for a similar level of the nearly 2 GWh of operating residential storage capacity in Europe so far.
The report expects overall growth rate for 2020 to be slower thanks to the pandemic, but to re-enter double digit territory by 2021.
For the coming years, Europe’s largest economy, Germany, will be the unchallenged leader in the field of residential energy storage. But battery storage for homes has become very popular in a number of European countries. In the leading markets, storage attachment to residential solar systems is over 90%.
The growth is aided by price declines. In Germany, between 2015–2019, prices have fallen by around 18% for small solar systems and nearly 40% for home storage solutions. For the next few years until 2023, a further 10% price decrease is expected for the well-established residential solar systems market, and a steeper 33% reduction for the much younger BESS segment.