• About
    • Which Energy Mix is this?
  • Climate News Network Archive
  • Contact
The climate news that makes a difference.
No Result
View All Result
The Energy Mix
  • Canada
  • Fossil Fuels
  • Ending Emissions
  • Cities & Communities
  • Electric Mobility
  • Heat & Power
  • Community Climate Finance
SUBSCRIBE
DONATE
  • Canada
  • Fossil Fuels
  • Ending Emissions
  • Cities & Communities
  • Electric Mobility
  • Heat & Power
  • Community Climate Finance
SUBSCRIBE
DONATE
No Result
View All Result
The Energy Mix
No Result
View All Result
  • Canada
  • Fossil Fuels
  • Ending Emissions
  • Cities & Communities
  • Electric Mobility
  • Heat & Power
  • Community Climate Finance
  FEATURED
BREAKING: Fossil Fuels Fall 25% by 2030, Renewables ‘Keep the Path Open’ in IEA Net-Zero Update September 26, 2023
Green Space Groups Gear for Bigger Fights After Ontario Reverses Greenbelt Land Grab September 25, 2023
Community-Driven Solutions Can Take Back Ontario’s Electricity Future: Torrie September 25, 2023
‘Apex Oil and Gas Lobby’ Undercuts Canadian Sovereignty, Laxer Tells Foreign Influence Probe September 25, 2023
Momentum Builds Toward COP 28 as Countries Back Fossil Fuel Phaseout September 25, 2023
Next
Prev

U.S. Home Storage with Rooftop Solar Could Hit 600 MW Per Year by 2021

March 10, 2017
Reading time: 2 minutes

Gray Watson/Wikimedia Commons

Gray Watson/Wikimedia Commons

 
Gray Watson/Wikimedia Commons

Home energy storage in the United States, most of it paired with rooftop solar, is on track to grow from almost nothing to more than 600 megawatts per year by 2021, as small solar installers assert themselves against larger, national competitors and time-of-use pricing becomes more common, Greentech Media reports.

While combining the two technologies “isn’t as simple as it seems,” that evolution “is a challenge everyone in the industry can see coming, and everyone wants a piece of the action.”

  • The climate news you need. Subscribe now to our engaging new weekly digest.
  • You’ll receive exclusive, never-before-seen-content, distilled and delivered to your inbox every weekend.
  • The Weekender: Succinct, solutions-focused, and designed with the discerning reader in mind.
Subscribe

Greentech uses the term “long-tail installers” to define the large number of smaller solar companies that have been entering the market behind a smaller group of central providers. One reason those installers can survive in residential solar, the industry news outlet says, is that “they’re installing fairly ‘dumb’ components. Solar panels aren’t exactly smart devices, and while inverters and energy meters are more complex in their interaction with the grid, they’re reporting data about energy production more than dynamically controlling it.”

But energy storage is an entirely different story. “Whoever controls the energy storage system will need to be aware of time-of-use rates, demand charges, and consumer preferences,” writes correspondent Travis Hoium. “A battery paired with solar in the future will require an incredibly complex algorithm to operate efficiently, something that long-tail installers won’t be equipped to develop themselves. That means there’s a natural hole that energy storage companies will try to fill.”

Greentech lists several companies that have an eye on the solar+storage market, “from solar manufacturers to stand-alone energy storage companies, and each one sees their role differently.” Each of them emphasizes a particular part of the integrated system, and has a specific business model in mind for building market share.

But ultimately, “long-tail installers are going to have to lean on someone to build the algorithms to control energy storage in the future—and not all energy storage offerings will be created equal.”



in Batteries / Storage, Demand & Distribution, Heat & Power, Jurisdictions, Renewable Energy, Solar, United States

The latest climate news and analysis, direct to your inbox

Subscribe

Related Posts

Jason Blackeye/Unsplash
International Agencies & Studies

BREAKING: Fossil Fuels Fall 25% by 2030, Renewables ‘Keep the Path Open’ in IEA Net-Zero Update

September 26, 2023
213
Duffins Agriculture Preserve/North Country House Media via Greenbelt Foundation
Ontario

Green Space Groups Gear for Bigger Fights After Ontario Reverses Greenbelt Land Grab

September 25, 2023
89
UNDP/flickr
Heat & Power

Community-Driven Solutions Can Take Back Ontario’s Electricity Future: Torrie

September 26, 2023
102

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

I agree to the Terms & Conditions and Privacy Policy.

Trending Stories

Jason Blackeye/Unsplash

BREAKING: Fossil Fuels Fall 25% by 2030, Renewables ‘Keep the Path Open’ in IEA Net-Zero Update

September 26, 2023
213
Cullen328/wikimedia commons

Manufactured Housing Could Dent the Affordable Housing Crunch with Energy-Efficient Designs

September 20, 2023
388
Wilson Hui/flickr

‘Apex Oil and Gas Lobby’ Undercuts Canadian Sovereignty, Laxer Tells Foreign Influence Probe

September 26, 2023
102
UNDP/flickr

Community-Driven Solutions Can Take Back Ontario’s Electricity Future: Torrie

September 26, 2023
102
Duffins Agriculture Preserve/North Country House Media via Greenbelt Foundation

Green Space Groups Gear for Bigger Fights After Ontario Reverses Greenbelt Land Grab

September 25, 2023
89
United Nations/Twitter

Momentum Builds Toward COP 28 as Countries Back Fossil Fuel Phaseout

September 26, 2023
80

Recent Posts

UniEnergy Technologies/wikimedia commons

Multi-Day Storage Can Deliver Cheaper Grid Reliability, Battery Maker Says

September 25, 2023
64
David Mellis/flickr

Top Food Brands Prepare for Supply Chains Disrupted by Climate Change

September 25, 2023
51
Power lines, Mississauga, Canada

Two First Nations Groups Vie to Build Northern Ontario Power Line

September 25, 2023
76
UN Climate Change/flickr

Don’t Attend COP 28 Unless You’re There to Help, Figueres Tells Oil and Gas

September 24, 2023
471
Jon Sullivan/flickr

Thorold Gas Peaker Plant Won’t Be Built After Unanimous City Council Vote

September 21, 2023
674
Rewat Wannasuk/Pexels

Virtual Power Plants Could Cut Peak Demand 20%, Save U.S. Grid $10B Per Year

September 20, 2023
128
Next Post

Rainforest pays high price for gold mining

The Energy Mix - The climate news you need

Copyright 2023 © Energy Mix Productions Inc. All rights reserved.

  • About
  • Contact
  • Privacy Policy and Copyright
  • Cookie Policy

Proudly partnering with…

scf_withtagline
The Energy Mix - Energy Central
No Result
View All Result
  • Canada
  • Fossil Fuels
  • Ending Emissions
  • Cities & Communities
  • Electric Mobility
  • Heat & Power
  • Community Climate Finance

Copyright 2022 © Smarter Shift Inc. and Energy Mix Productions Inc. All rights reserved.

Manage Cookie Consent
To provide the best experiences, we use technologies like cookies to store and/or access device information. Consenting to these technologies will allow us to process data such as browsing behaviour or unique IDs on this site. Not consenting or withdrawing consent, may adversely affect certain features and functions.
Functional Always active
The technical storage or access is strictly necessary for the legitimate purpose of enabling the use of a specific service explicitly requested by the subscriber or user, or for the sole purpose of carrying out the transmission of a communication over an electronic communications network.
Preferences
The technical storage or access is necessary for the legitimate purpose of storing preferences that are not requested by the subscriber or user.
Statistics
The technical storage or access that is used exclusively for statistical purposes. The technical storage or access that is used exclusively for anonymous statistical purposes. Without a subpoena, voluntary compliance on the part of your Internet Service Provider, or additional records from a third party, information stored or retrieved for this purpose alone cannot usually be used to identify you.
Marketing
The technical storage or access is required to create user profiles to send advertising, or to track the user on a website or across several websites for similar marketing purposes.
Manage options Manage services Manage vendors Read more about these purposes
View preferences
{title} {title} {title}