The global market for utility-scale renewable energy storage technologies is projected to reach $33.6 billion by 2018, primarily driven by the growing contribution of solar and wind energy to a utility's energy mix, according to a new report by Global Industry Analysts Inc. (GIA).
The Achilles' heel of renewable energy to date has been storage, says GIA. However, developments in renewable energy storage flaunt the potential to tilt the energy balance in favor of alternative energy resources, which has been hampered by reliability issues triggered by their intermittent and variable output characteristics.
According to the report, Europe and the U.S. represent the largest markets for utility-scale renewable energy storage. The U.S. is the fastest-growing regional market, with a projected compound annual growth rate of 40% over the analysis period.
