EU battery storage is ready for its moment in the sun

The EU is experiencing a surge in solar and wind power, which frequently exceeds demand during peak hours, leading to price volatility and negative electricity prices. While renewables are growing, the lack of system flexibility—such as battery storage and interconnectors—forces a continued reliance on fossil fuels during evenings and early mornings. The report highlights that by 2030, excess wind and solar power could reach 183 TWh across the EU, potentially saving €9 billion in annual gas costs if shifted effectively. It specifically notes Germany's role as a leader in battery capacity and suggests that further additions could significantly displace hard coal and gas. The document recommends removing regulatory barriers to co-location, implementing national flexibility strategies in National Energy and Climate Plans (NECPs), and establishing a comprehensive EU strategy for clean flexibility.

• By 2030, wind and solar power generation across EU countries could exceed domestic demand by 183 TWh, which is roughly equivalent to Poland's total power consumption in 2023. Utilizing flexibility solutions like batteries and interconnectors to shift this excess power could save the EU €9 billion in annual fossil gas purchase costs.
• Solar power is increasingly dominating the EU energy mix during peak hours; between August 2023 and July 2024, nine EU countries experienced solar shares peaking at or above 80% of hourly demand, with the Netherlands and Greece occasionally surpassing 100%.
• A lack of flexibility is causing a disparity in fossil fuel reliance between day and night. In Germany, the share of fossil power at 1pm in July dropped from 36% in 2021 to 20% in 2024, but the share at 8pm only decreased from 47% to 44% over the same period.
• The rapid growth of solar is contributing to more frequent zero and negative electricity prices. For example, Spain saw zero or negative prices in 14% of hours in the first half of 2024, compared to only 1% in the first half of 2023, while the Netherlands hit a record 12% of hours with zero or negative prices in July 2024.
• Battery storage and solar power have mutually reinforcing business cases: solar growth increases price volatility and spreads, which improves the revenue potential for batteries through price arbitrage, while batteries support solar capture rates by increasing demand during peak production.
• Germany is the EU leader in battery storage, holding 46% of total EU capacity (9.5 GW) as of June 2024. An additional 2 GW of battery capacity in June 2024 could have displaced 36 GWh of fossil power, saving either €1.3 million in hard coal costs or €2.5 million in fossil gas costs.

APA

Ember (2024). EU battery storage is ready for its moment in the sun. https://ember-energy.org/latest-insights/eu-battery-storage-is-ready-for-its-moment-in-the-sun

Chicago

Ember. EU battery storage is ready for its moment in the sun. 2024. https://ember-energy.org/latest-insights/eu-battery-storage-is-ready-for-its-moment-in-the-sun.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=Ember |title=EU battery storage is ready for its moment in the sun |date=26 September 2024 |url=https://ember-energy.org/latest-insights/eu-battery-storage-is-ready-for-its-moment-in-the-sun |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{ember2024battery, author = {{Ember}}, title = {{EU battery storage is ready for its moment in the sun}}, institution = {Ember}, year = {2024}, month = sep, url = {https://ember-energy.org/latest-insights/eu-battery-storage-is-ready-for-its-moment-in-the-sun}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }