By Kari Williamson

“PV energy storage will make solar technology a more efficient and cost-effective renewable energy resource,” says Benoit Rolland, Managing Director of Tenesol.

“System operators will benefit from a self-sufficient power source, rather than buying it back from the electricity supplier they feed into. It will also make the solar industry more stable and less reliant on government incentives.”

Ready for mass production

The €9 million project, which was started with partners in 2008, has gone through extensive field tests in Europe and is now ready for mass production, Tenesol says.

The solar PV storage solution can be retrofitted to residential and small commercial systems and can accommodate solar PV energy production of up to 5 kWp for more than 20 years.

The system uses lithium-ion batteries rated from 8 to 13 kWh with a nominal voltage of 190 V to 290 V. The batteries are compact and highly energy efficient, and in a recent two year field test reached 97% efficiency, the company adds.

Furthermore, the solar PV storage system could save operators up to €0.095/kWh of solar energy they consume instead of feeding into the grid.

Less reliant on feed-in tariffs

“The first generation of solar systems was grid connected,” says Engin Yaman, General Manager of Tenesol Germany.

“We believe the second generation will be all about decentralised systems that allow for self-consumption. The industry as a whole has come to the conclusion that the best way to move ahead with solar is to have companies, industries and indeed households consume the energy they produce themselves.”