Supporting our own findings, Moody's states that energy storage solutions still don't cost-justify

They are looking at it somewhat incorrectly. Although most customers don’t have a driving desire to actually abandon the grid entirely, paying extra for storage for backup power  and getting the additional benefit of peak shaving is an increasingly attractive proposition which will lop the most expensive power off of utility bills every time it is installed.

MB

 

14.01.2015: The continuing drop in the cost of solar energy storage poses little risk that residential customers will defect from US utilities, claims Moody's Investors Service in a new report entitled »Batteries are coming but utilities are not going away.«Despite the ongoing reduction in prices, battery storage is still far from cost-effective for most US consumers, says Moody's, which means that the risk of utility customers exiting the electric system en masse in the foreseeable future is negligible. »We believe the cost of batteries in a solar-battery system is still an order of magnitude too expensive to substitute for grid power,« says Toby Shea, a Moody's vice president and senior analyst. »The capital cost of batteries today is closer to $500 to $600 per kWh. Thus, when we say that battery costs need to be lower by an order of magnitude, we effectively mean costs in the range of $10 to 30 per kWh.« Moreover, based on analysis of actual consumer usage, Moody's finds that the size of the battery necessary to leave the grid is much larger than is commonly believed. Most other studies on battery size do not adequately consider the extremely volatile nature of electrical usage, Moody’s claims. And in addition to batteries, a PV system is needed to leave the grid, and although growing rapidly, the number of households with rooftop solar is still quite small, and the vast majority of existing systems rely on net energy metering economics, which requires a grid connection. Moreover, Moody’s says, the lifestyle adjustments required to defect from the grid would be unacceptable to most people as they are too accustomed to the convenience and reliability of grid-supplied electricity and would not likely accept the constant need to be mindful of the battery charge levels, and then to conserve electricity as necessary. © PHOTO

 

Monty Bannerman

ArcStar Energy

+1-646-402-5076

www.arcstarenergy.com