Views: 89 Author: Site Editor Publish Time: 2021-01-15 Origin: Site
Barry Cinnamon, CEO of california energy developer Cinnamon Energy Systems, summarized the development of energy storage industry in 2020: "2020 is a bad year for many organizations and personnel, but the solar power generation and energy storage industry is relatively lucky, and users have a large demand for products and services. So, in terms of income, 2020 is not as bad as people think. As many people continue to work remotely from home, the demand for a low-cost, secure and reliable user side energy supply is likely to be higher in 2021. "
The following is cinnamon's technical and market forecast of residential solar energy and energy storage system in 2021.
(1)More and more houses will be installed with solar power generation facilities
In the past 20 years, the efficiency of solar power modules has increased from about 13% to more than 20%, and the cost has decreased significantly. Therefore, it is more economical to install solar power generation facilities on the roof of buildings at present.
(2)Buildings will be designed to be carbon negative
The higher efficiency of residential solar power generation modules means that buildings can be designed as carbon negative buildings, that is, the energy generated exceeds the energy consumed by their operation. In the future, the proportion of buildings with solar power generation facilities will increase.
(3)The skill level of solar energy and energy storage contractors will be improved
The additional functions and configuration options of solar power generation facilities and battery energy storage system need higher technical level of installers to better deploy. Gone are the days when the installers only needed to connect the wires correctly to make the system work normally. Installers must now be proficient in building electrical circuits, cat 5 / 6 communication lines, various wireless communication protocols, computer and mobile applications, and dozens of inverter / battery configuration options. The traditional electrical and installation training is not enough for solar energy and energy storage system installation personnel.
(4)The industry monopoly of modular power electronic products will continue
The inverter products of solardedge (power optimizer) and enphase (micro inverter) have become the installation standard of more than 75% residential solar power generation facilities. The patent protection, production scale and compliance with electrical regulations of these components have brought significant obstacles for other inverter products to enter the market. With the development and progress of technology, industry leaders must continue their innovation efforts to maintain a leading position.
(5)Customer service and warranty are the key selection criteria of battery energy storage system
It is well known that the working life of batteries is usually very short. Users pay more attention to the integrity of battery warranty service of battery energy storage system. They hope to purchase battery energy storage system directly from manufacturers, because these manufacturers have a good record of supporting their products.
(6)The requirements of UL 9540 / a standard may hinder the release of new energy storage products
These good safety standards aimed at preventing the battery from thermal runaway have been implemented before the manufacturer completes the necessary tests. In some cases, some battery energy storage systems do not meet the qualified safety standards, and the interpretation of test results depends on local regulations. For example, many densely populated urban areas in California prohibit the deployment and operation of battery energy storage systems with an energy storage capacity of more than 20kwh, because most residential users are unable to meet the safe operation requirements of battery energy storage systems.
(7)Expand the scale of residential solar power generation system
Most of the building owners will add more electrical facilities (such as heat pumps and electric vehicles). As the building power consumption will inevitably increase, it is a wise decision for most residential users to expand the scale of solar power generation system.
(8)Electric vehicle chargers will be an option for installing new solar power systems
Standard solar power generation facility systems can also be used to power electric vehicle chargers. Some new inverter designs have special connection for EV charger, which simplifies the wiring, permission and control measures of EV charging, thus significantly reducing the cost.
(9)Residential users may deploy more battery energy storage systems in the future
In the future, in addition to residential solar power generation facilities and battery energy storage system, residential users will also deploy another independent battery energy storage system to charge electric vehicles. This is because the continuous cost reduction of solar energy + energy storage system will meet the demand of vehicles to the grid system.
(10)The price of solar energy + energy storage system for residential users is still very expensive
Residential users need to deploy solar power generation facilities, batteries and inverters to provide backup power during power failure, and the cost of procurement and deployment is still very high.
With the cancellation of the federal investment tax credit policy in the United States, there are still two years to go, and the next US government pays more attention to the development of the solar energy and energy storage industry, it can be predicted that the solar energy and energy storage industry in the United States will usher in another year of growth. However, two main factors will continue to limit the market penetration of residential solar energy + energy storage system: one is that public utility companies put forward strict requirements on residential solar energy and energy storage facilities deployed by customers, resulting in high self generation electricity price and complex grid interconnection requirements. Second, the soft cost is getting higher and higher, many of which are related to equipment standards and building regulations.
Fortunately, advocacy organizations such as federal industry organizations (e.g., the American Solar Industry Association, vote solar, the interstate Renewable Energy Commission, smart power alliance, etc.) and local industry organizations (California solar energy and storage association, solar power rights alliance, etc.) are working to reduce these disadvantages.
