Energy think tank Ember said on Thursday (26 September) that Germany could save millions in fuel costs with more energy storage capacity.
According to Ember, Germany could have avoided almost €2.5 million in natural gas imports in June this year alone if it had had 2 GW more battery storage in its energy system – a 20% increase over current levels. The additional battery capacity could have shifted solar energy from midday to evening, replacing 36 gigawatt hours (GWh) of energy from fossil fuels.
Energy storage technologies capture electricity generated from intermittent energy sources such as solar and wind energy during times of high generation so that it can be used when supply is low.
The think tank emphasized that the rollout of energy storage must match the rapid growth of electricity production from solar and wind energy in Germany and the EU.
Solar energy will have the largest percentage share of installed capacity in the German electricity system as of 2023 with 33.24%, while wind energy will constitute the third largest share with 28.12%, according to Power technology‘s parent company Global data.
While increased deployment of renewable energy in Germany has reduced dependence on Russian imports, a lack of energy storage and grid improvements has prevented the country from unlocking the full benefits of renewables.
In December, Germany put energy storage on its political agenda for the first time, detailing: policy framework with which it hopes to reach a storage capacity of 5GW/57GWh by 2030 and 60GW/271GWh by 2050.
The country currently has 1.8 GW of energy storage and is expected to deploy another 3.7 GW by 2027. To further stabilize its networks, the country has a plan to develop new hydrogen-ready gas-to-power plants and has discussed an accompanying capacity to guarantee incomes.
“Germany could save millions in fuel costs with more energy storage, says Ember” was originally created and published by Power technologya brand owned by GlobalData.
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