The global annual energy storage market is at risk of contracting in 2019, following a bumper year of growth in 2018, according to new research by Wood Mackenzie.
The report – ‘Global energy storage outlook, Q3 2019’ – said the global market has slowed down in key regions that saw 2018’s boom, namely South Korea and China.
These countries have been plagued with fire incidences, as well as policy and regulatory changes, Wood Mackenzie said.
The US and European markets are also struggling to get capacity on the ground in 2019, with capacity being pushed to 2020, 2021 and, in some cases, even further out, it said.
However, beyond 2019, the global storage outlook is on the up.
Wood Mackenzie expects 4GW of energy storage to be deployed globally in 2019, with these numbers increasing to 15GW in 2024.
Wood Mackenzie senior analyst Rory McCarthy said: “The energy storage industry in the Asia-Pacific region is still at an early stage of development.
“China’s storage market slowed in the first three quarters of 2019, primarily due to policy change.
“South Korea’s storage market continues to stagnate due to continuous fire incidents. However, Australia’s storage market is on track to hit targets in 2019 and is expected to grow three-fold in 2020.
“The rest of the Asia-Pacific market is beginning to pick up.
“In the US market, hidden beyond the overall surge in forecasted five-year deployments is an industry hitting growing pains, as the reality of supply chain constraints, regulatory hurdles and performance and safety concerns are set to push back some 2019 and 2020 projects.
“The market is expected to bounce back quickly from this near-term slowdown by accelerating in 2021, driven by large-scale utility procurements targeting GWs of storage – often paired with renewables – over the next three to five years.
“We are at a crossroads in the UK and Germany. Frequency markets have saturated. Now players are looking for other opportunities.
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