Solar&StorageXtra heads back to Intersolar 2024, where we spoke to SolarPower Europe’s Antonio Arruebo.
Antonio discussed SolarPower Europe’s latest report, which it released at the show. He explained the key takeaways the industry should hold on to following the report and the direction solar is heading towards.
Interview with Antonio Arruebo, Junior Market Analyst for SolarPower Europe
“Solar and battery storage should be partners in this energy transition, and the rollout of batteries is really dependent on policymakers eliminating barriers.”
Xtra: Can you tell us a bit about your speaking session today?
Antonio: [The talk] was a flexibility workstream meeting that my colleague Katerina from the grid organised, but it was also open to non-members of SolarPower Europe. It was essentially about the developments in technology in terms of flexibility, demand side response, and battery storage.
I gave a keynote speech on the report that we just published covering the historical evolution of battery storage in Europe, the 2024 dynamics – which are changing – and then the forecast until 2028.
Xtra: Can you share some highlights from SolarPower Europe’s report?
Antonio: Invariably the residential segment has been covering most of the installations in the past because of the consequences of the energy crisis. Households were looking at solar plus storage to shield themselves against the spikes in the electricity markets.
It was a viable solution, and it was cost-efficient to do it at that time, but this year the dynamics [have been] changing.
We’re seeing a slowdown in the uptake of battery storage in the household sector. [This is] because of the reduced perception of the energy crisis. Alternatively, electricity prices are [currently] declining fast and have already done so in the past.
We expect that at the beginning the total market will stabilise. But utility-scale is coming up fast and is coming up strong, especially in Italy. Overall, we’re seeing a 30% market growth this year in the medium scenario.
Until 2028 the market could grow to around 80kWh hours of battery storage which would lead us to 260 of cumulative battery storage capacity in Europe. But we have the potential to reach, 400GWh of battery storage.
The potential is enormous, we just need to eliminate the barriers that developers are still facing. That’s why we also have the key policy recommendations to turn these challenges into opportunities and get from the middle scenario to the high scenario – which is the most optimistic that we have.
Xtra: When people read SolarPower Europe’s report, what changes do you want to see them implement?
Antonio: Up until now we were focused on the residential sector because it was an easy job for us – we have all the data for solar PV and we have strong support for the segment.
But now we’re seeing increasingly that solar isn’t working as usual anymore. Our grids are approaching their limitations. For that we have battery storage, which should become an even greater ally of solar PV, to bring in all the flexibility that we need in the short term.
The main takeaway is that solar and battery storage should be partners in this energy transition, and the rollout of batteries is really dependent on policymakers eliminating barriers. [These include] double charging or double taxation, which is something that is injuring the deployment [of storage] in many countries.
Removing all this, and introducing support schemes wherever needed, is essential. That’s why we provide the forecasts to envision the future for Europe and to have three different scenarios – depending on the conditions.
Xtra: What kind of conversations have you been having at the show?
Antonio: Many conversations – It’s difficult to get out of here because you’re in so many meetings!
People are excited not only about solar but also battery storage. We’re seeing increasing interest in this regard, [which is] why we decided to launch this report now.
2024 is where the inflexion points of the energy crisis are. Dynamics are changing, as I mentioned, and therefore we want to be ahead of the curve and have all the data ready to shine a light on this.
[We’ve had] so many conversations with many companies, many nationalities, and many people – there’s a lot of energy which is great. It’s exciting to be here.
It’s also the opportunity to, provide more visibility for the work that we’re doing not only for solar but also for battery storage as well.
Xtra: Why is it important to attend international solar shows?
Antonio: I think it’s a great environment to pull together different ideas from different companies. We know that markets are traditionally competitive, but I think is a great environment to be more collaborative and cooperative, and to see what kind of arrangements we can reach.
You have to try and have a common voice for the industry, and I think this is a great environment for doing that. I see that in the conversations and, although people are from different companies that are competitors, they’re still sharing their knowledge and expertise.
We can achieve this energy transition, which is the objective in the end: reaching our climate goals. It’s all about that.
For me, it’s always about cooperation rather than competition.
Xtra: Has SolarPower Europe had any other big announcements at Intersolar?
Antonio: Yeah, I’m speaking here with some colleagues about battery storage because that has been my main project. But we have also launched the Global Market Outlook, which is one of our flagship reports.
We launched it always at InterSolar, and it covers all the global developments. Of course, China has deployed most of the [global] capacity. We’re seeing that their dominance is still very present and exacerbating.
We do this coverage of solar PV’s global development, but we also have a European focus which we publish in December.
Then we also have Inverters Explained, which covers a component probably not as well-known because people are only talking about modules or battery storage. But all these components are critical and inverters, for example, are the brain of the system. We’re shedding light on that as well.
Many things are coming up [in the pipeline], which is always great.
Keep up with all things solar Europe at a Solar & Storage Live near you.
