The German manufacturer’s advanced MyReserve battery is now available throughout Denmark, so households and businesses, including farms, can boost self-sufficiency and assert their energy independence from utilities while slashing electricity bills. Interest in storage is rising due to cuts to the feed-in tariff, originally aimed at boosting renewable-energy technologies, and by Denmark’s high electricity prices.
The change is fuelling enquiries about PV installations for new-build and retrofit projects. Prompted by interest in its MyReserve battery and EnergyManager smart control system, Solarwatt is also seeing increased demand for its glass-glass solar PV panels. The company has established strong partnerships with leading Danish companies including Lemvigh-Müller, the country’s largest wholesaler of steel and technical installations, providing access to a wide network of professional installers.
Promising energy storage market
“We are already very active and successful with Solarwatt products in the other Nordic markets but Denmark presents a big opportunity,” said Patrik Larsson, the company’s Sales Manager in the Nordic region. “We see a very promising storage market where we can take a leading position.” With Solarwatt, Lemvigh-Müller is to conduct a series of in-depth training sessions to equip experienced solar PV professionals with the skills to train installers for certification throughout Denmark.
Danish consumers tend to embrace new technology and favour quality products with robust warranties. As with installers, they have a good knowledge of solar PV as it was a flourishing market between 2009 and 2012, before its net-metering scheme was cut back. Experience globally shows consumers turn to renewable energy when electricity prices are high, or begin to rise strongly.
Founded in Copenhagen in 1846, Lemvigh-Müller has grown organically and through acquisitions to be Denmark’s largest steel and engineering wholesaler, known for its timely, reliable logistics systems, and offering a wide range of products and services. “Working with selected distributors such as Lemvigh-Müller, we can respond very positively to the growing demand we expect and in fact are beginning to see from householders, businesses and farmers,” added Patrik Larsson.
Through its intelligent charging strategy and extremely rapid response times, MyReserve secures as much free solar energy as possible instead of using expensive grid electricity. The super-efficient battery provides up to 80% of average annual power requirements from a customer’s own rooftop – on some days up to 99%. This also increases the lifetime of MyReserve, so Solarwatt can offer market-leading warranties. MyReserve is ideal for retrofitting existing PV systems, with a modular design for easy integration with all existing PV installations – indoors and out. Directly connected to the DC circuit between the PV system and the inverter, MyReserve is compatible with all common PV inverters without being coupled to them, resulting in significantly lower energy conversion losses.
35 percent renewables by 2020
In Denmark, new solar installations fell from more than 70,000 PV new systems in 2012, representing 406,661 MW, to 2,640 systems (60,2 MW) in 2017, following a series of political measures influenced by concerns over reduced tax revenues. However, with a more conducive political environment, combined with advanced technology, there is much optimism for solar PV and storage systems. Now, the Danish government aims to make the country completely independent of fossil fuels by 2050 and is on-course to reduce gross energy consumption in 2020 by 12% compared to 2006, with 35% of energy produced from renewable sources. (HCN)
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