Solar Energy Plus Battery Storage Becomes Mainstream With IKEA Selling Solution To Customers

Lithium Battery Storage

Solar energy has rapidly become mainstream with solar prices falling rapidly over the last few years. Solar is already cheaper than coal in a large number of countries and with the cost curve of solar energy declining, this trend is only going to accelerate. However, solar energy suffers from the problem of intermittency which makes it dependent on the normal traditional power grid for backup purposes. But another technology has come to the rescue of solar energy with lithium battery storage costs also showing a similar exponential decline in costs similar to solar panels.

Lithium battery costs have already fallen by around 60-70% in the last few years and this trend is expected to continue with massive investments, improving technology and processes. Tesla is already thinking of opening up to 40 Gigafactories in the world, which will massively increase the supply of lithium batteries besides leading to lower costs. Others such as Korean and Chinese lithium battery suppliers have equally aggressive capacity expansion plans.

Solar energy plus storage has already gained traction in residential applications in Germany and Australia where economics is driving the adoption of solar energy rooftop systems paired with lithium batteries. These batteries do not only serve as load points but also as generation points. They have a multitude of uses and besides storing energy for the house can also be used in wholesale energy markets for providing capacity and frequency regulation.

How quickly energy storage is becoming mainstream is being proved by the fact that home furniture retailer IKEA is going to start selling solar panel system solution paired with energy storage. The company has tied up with LG Chem to supply the batteries. The company had started selling solar home systems in UK last year and this marks a rapid evolution in its solution.