Energy storage market big in 2015, IHS Says

Battery cost reductions, government funding programs and utility tenders led to a 45 percent increase in the global energy storage pipeline in the fourth quarter of 2015 compared to the previous quarter.

According to IHS Inc., the leading global source of critical information and insight, the global pipeline of planned battery and flywheel projects had reached 1.6 gigawatts (GW) in Q4 2015.

“Continued battery cost reduction, government funding programs and utility tenders have helped spark a notable acceleration in the global energy storage market, and IHS recorded an increase of nearly 400 megawatts in the global pipeline during the final quarter of 2015,” said Marianne Boust, principal analyst for IHS Technology. “Suppliers and developers around the world are preparing for a record year in 2016, with significant growth projected in a wide range of regions and market segments.”

Several large-scale projects were announced at the end of 2015, signaling that the storage industry is shifting from research-and-development demonstration projects to commercially viable projects. These projects include a 90 MW order by major power producer STEAG from LG Chem, to compete in the primary reserve market in Germany, and 75 MW of contracts awarded by PG&E to a diverse mix of companies using various established and emerging technologies.

The IHS Technology Energy Storage Project and Company Database currently tracks approximately 900 megawatts (MW) of global grid-connected battery projects that are expected to be commissioned in 2016, supporting a predicted doubling in the global installed base for grid-connected energy storage in 2016. Planned storage installations in the United States will make up nearly half (45 percent) of planned installations, followed by Japan at 20 percent.