You're reading an older article from ELECTRICAL CONTRACTOR. Some content, such as code-related information, may be outdated. Visit our homepage to view the most up-to-date articles.
Offering an antidote to the variable nature of wind and solar, storage has emerged as an essential ingredient to the success of renewable power. Notwithstanding the publicity surrounding breakthrough products, such as Tesla’s PowerWall, the marriage of storage with solar installations has yet to get much traction.
A recent study by German market research firm, EuPD Research, confirms this trend. The report, titled “PV InstallerSurvey USA 2015/2016”, reveals that only about one-third (34 percent) of U.S. solar photovoltaic installers also offer storage solutions. A roughly similar margin, 38 percent of solar installers, made a calculated decision not to offer storage. The expected low margins caused by the high price of storage solutions factored most heavily into their decision. The “technological maturity” of existing technology also discouraged them from offering storage solutions. According to the installers who responded to the survey, the most important features for energy storage solutions are guarantee conditions and ease of installation.
The black cloud has a silver lining. According to the study, about 26 percent of the installers surveyed said they want to provide some sort of storage solution in 2016.
EuPD Research conducted 302 interviews with installers from 42 US states and Washington, D.C.
About The Author
LAEZMAN is a Los Angeles-based freelance writer who has been covering renewable power for more than 10 years. He may be reached at [email protected].
