Sweden says it wants to stop burning
fossil fuels to make electricity by the year 2040. Policies and goals
are wonderful things, but taking action to implement those policies and
goals is where the hard work comes into play. Now Sweden is putting its
money where its mouth is. It has announced a government subsidy that
will cover 60% of the cost of installing a residential energy storage
system up to a maximum of 50,000 kroner or $5,600. The credit applies to
the battery, wiring, control systems, smart energy hub, and
installation work for homes with rooftop solar systems.
Andreas Gustafsson, program manager for the research and innovation department of the Swedish Energy Agency tells Renewable Energy World,
“The scheme represents a complementary support system to the existing
scheme supporting solar PV generation in Sweden. It’s one step, but an
important step towards establishing a smart, distributed grid based
around clean, renewable energy.”
“It’s expected that in supporting the
installation of batteries, we’ll enable two outcomes — one to enable
better use of solar PV generation systems,” Gustafsson says. “The second
is to help establish smarter, more flexible grids that can contribute
to stabilize the grid against fluctuations in frequency and voltage. In
this context, it’s important to have systems for storing energy, rather
than simply pumping excess electricity into the grid, only to buy it
back at a later date when you have a demand.”
He believes the new incentive program
will be attractive to what he calls “prosumers” — private persons or
companies using rooftop solar for their own energy needs. Johan Lindahl,
a spokesperson for Swedish Solar Energy says, “Solar PV is a rapidly
expanding market in Sweden. It’s in a good position to grow from a small
position currently. Last year, for instance, solar PV capacity grew by
60%. We’re around 128 MW now.”
In general, there is a growing interest
for PV in Sweden and the general public is very positive towards the
technology,” he says. A recent survey found that about 20% Swedish
homeowners were considering investing in rooftop solar or a small wind
turbine.
Sweden’s new incentive program is
similar to one in place in Germany that saw 19,000 home solar and
battery storage systems installed since it began. That program has
recently been extended through 2108. Whether Sweden can duplicate that
success remains to be seen.
“Energy storage on this scale is new for
Sweden.” says Andreas Gustafson. “There’s very little to no home energy
storage at the moment. Hopefully though, we can look forward to success
here, and new companies and jobs to come along with introduction of
these storage solutions.” The incentive program will be in effect until
December 31, 2019.
Source: Renewable Energy World
No comments:
Post a Comment