BDO: Battery storage systems key to renewable energy integration

Berlin – German consultancy BDO AG has released an analysis focusing on the role of battery storage systems in Germany's energy transmission and renewable energy integration. The report emphasizes that large-scale battery storage is essential for achieving Germany's ambitious renewable energy targets by 2030, particularly as grid infrastructure development lags behind.

The analysis points out that while Germany aims to significantly increase wind and solar power capacity, the expansion of the grid is not progressing fast enough. Consequently, large battery storage systems are becoming central to smoothing short-term electricity price and load fluctuations. They can also help alleviate grid bottlenecks and reduce Redispatch costs, which arise from the need to balance the electricity grid.

Germany's goal is to increase the total capacity of renewable energy sources to 360 gigawatts (GW) by 2030. According to recent estimates, the installed capacity at the end of 2024 was approximately 188 GW and is expected to exceed 210 GW during 2025. While Germany already operates around 2.2 million stationary electricity storage units with a total capacity of 23 gigawatt-hours (GWh), large battery storage systems with a combined capacity of approximately 2.4 GW are operational. Meanwhile, large storage projects with a capacity of about 226 GW are awaiting grid connection approval.

BDO suggests that battery storage systems can also capitalize on price differences in spot markets through arbitrage trading, by charging when electricity is cheap and discharging when it is expensive. Although the economic viability of such trading may shift in the future due to factors like demand-side management and increased battery capacity, their role in smoothing price peaks and ensuring grid stability is vital. Effective deployment of batteries can also compensate for delays in grid expansion in the long term.