Thus, sonnen continues its global growth course and also expands its product range in Europe. For comparison: According to SolarPower Europe, a home storage market volume of just under 100 MWh was expected in the "Rest of Europe" for the full year 2021. This category also includes other countries besides Belgium, Denmark and Spain.
The development in Belgium is particularly dynamic. An exclusive partnership with Opteco, one of the largest solar installers in the country, has been in place here for a year. In Belgium, the remuneration via so-called "net metering" was changed to self-consumption at the beginning of 2020 - and thus a decisive incentive for the use of self-generated electricity was created. In addition, there is a state subsidy for home storage, which provides households with a grant of up to 3,200 euros. The regulatory measures are also reflected in the sales figures of the sonnenBatterie in Belgium. After a strong start last year, sales increased significantly in the first half of this year.
Denmark: storage increasingly popular
In Denmark, the sonnenCharger is now also available. sonnen is thus introducing its intelligent wallbox for electric vehicles outside the DACH region for the first time. "The desire for clean and affordable energy for the home is increasing in more and more countries. Demand for our products is therefore also picking up in regions where the market for storage units was still in its infancy a short time ago. In Denmark alone, we sold about as many sonnen batteries in the first quarter of 2021 as we did in the whole of last year. That's why we are also expanding our product portfolio there and are now offering the sonnenCharger as well," emphasises Wenzel Brühl, Director Growth Markets Europe at sonnen.
In Denmark, electricity prices are traditionally very high compared to other European countries. At the same time, the feed-in tariff for owners of a photovoltaic system is comparatively low. Both factors contribute to the fact that storage units are becoming increasingly popular there as well.
European Solar Prize winning project
In Spain, too, sonnen has made significant gains in recent months. Together with its largest specialist partner Webatt Energia, with whom sonnen has been working since 2017, the largest single installation of a sonnen battery worldwide to date was realised at the end of 2020, with a total storage capacity of 247.5 kilowatt hours (kWh). Also in 2020, the Bungalow Resort & Spa La Ballena Alegre Costa Brava (Catalonia) was equipped with 39 sonnenBatteries. The project was awarded the European Solar Prize 2020 in the Industry category.
In addition, the sonnenBatterie is already available in many other European countries outside the core markets in the DACH region and Italy. For example, demand is also increasing in Great Britain, Sweden and Ireland.
See also: Agrisolar Best Practice Guidelines released
Meanwhile, sonnen also operates a number of virtual power plants in various countries and supports the electricity grids with networked sonnenBatteries. In addition to Germany, these include Italy, the USA, Australia and the UK. (mfo)
