Growing wind and solar energy storage

There is a growing need to increase the capacity for storing the energy generated from the burgeoning wind and solar industries for periods when there is less wind and sun. This is driving unprecedented growth in the energy storage sector and many countries have ambitions to participate in the global storage supply chains.

Wind turbines and solar panels have popped up across landscapes, contributing an ever-increasing share of electricity. In 2021 alone, nearly 295 gigawatts of new renewable power capacity was added worldwide. This trend points to a significant move away from the environmentally harmful practice of burning fossil fuels.

This year, massive solar farms, offshore wind turbines, and grid-scale energy storage systems will join the power grid. Dozens of large-scale solar, wind, and storage projects will come online worldwide in 2025, representing several gigawatts of new capacity. The Oasis de Atacama in Chile will be the world's largest storage-plus-solar project.

The blades are connected to a generator that converts the kinetic energy into electricity. Wind power installations have grown worldwide, with leading countries like China, the US, and Germany pushing for increased capacity, as seen in the Global Wind Energy Council's report. Solar energy is another powerhouse among renewables.

This flexibility is particularly important in China, which has a large and growing share of wind and solar power in its generation mix. In 2021, wind and solar combined generated 12% of China's electricity, according to our International Energy Statistics.

Energy storage systems must develop to cover green energy plateaus. We need additional capacity to store the energy generated from wind and solar power for periods when there is less wind and sun. Batteries are at the core of the recent growth in energy storage and battery prices are dropping considerably.