New Player Emerges in Battle of Solar vs. Utilities: Storage

A battle has been brewing between utility companies and the rooftop solar industry in California, and, of course, it’s about money.  They compete with each other because rooftop solar systems enable people to purchase less power from utility companies, but the companies still have a leg to stand on — the fact is that the owners of these systems rely on them for backup.

Energy storage systems are expected to increasingly come online due to declining battery costs, as well as energy storage mandates.  As a result of this, utilities are losing control of the electricity market.  Not too long ago, lithium-ion batteries cost a whopping $1 million per MWh of storage capacity, rendering them infeasible for cost-competitive grid storage, but now their cost has dipped well below $500,000 per MWh.  This, combined with California’s energy storage mandate, is undoing the traditional utility business model, as the use of energy storage can eliminate the need for a grid connection altogether.

New Player Emerges in Battle of Solar vs. Utilities:  Storage