Grid-scale energy storage BoS ‘ripe’ for new entrants, says GTM Report

Facebook
Twitter
LinkedIn
Reddit
Email
Luis Ortiz: “The value chain and vendor ecosystem for storage projects is ripe for new entrants from other renewable power industries, both in project development and BOS component supply.” Image: Southern California Edison, Scott Dreger.

The former VP of Solar Grid Storage has predicted average Balance of Systems (BoS) costs for energy storage will drop from around US$670 to less than US$400 per kilowatt in the next five years.

Luis Ortiz, an independent consultant who was most recently vice president of the SunEdison-acquired large-scale storage start-up, was lead-author of a report on the topic for GTM Research.

This article requires Premium SubscriptionBasic (FREE) Subscription

Unlock unlimited access for 12 whole months of distinctive global analysis

Photovoltaics International is now included.

  • Regular insight and analysis of the industry’s biggest developments
  • In-depth interviews with the industry’s leading figures
  • Unlimited digital access to the PV Tech Power journal catalogue
  • Unlimited digital access to the Photovoltaics International journal catalogue
  • Access to more than 1,000 technical papers
  • Discounts on Solar Media’s portfolio of events, in-person and virtual

Or continue reading this article for free

“Grid-scale energy storage balance of systems 2015-2020: architectures, costs and players” has just been published by the research and analysis firm. While cost reductions in batteries in particular have been a constant focus of media both within the industry and more recently in the broader landscape in part due to the ‘Tesla effect’, less has been said so far about the other costs of energy storage technologies and projects.

Storage BoS costs may not fall quite as dramatically as the cost of solar has done and to some extent will see “diminishing returns” as a result of having “piggybacked” on solar’s already-established industry ecosystem and best practise learning curves. The difference could be of an order of magnitude in dollars per kilowatt when compared with the tumbling costs of PV.

For the full version of this story, visit Energy Storage News (formerly PV Tech Storage).

Read Next

June 10, 2025
Buyers in the European solar sector remain positive about the future of the industry, despite fluctuations in solar module prices.
June 4, 2025
Independent power producer (IPP) Grenergy has acquired 1GW (298 units) of inverters from Spanish manufacturer Ingeteam for its 2GW/11GWh Oasis de Atacama solar-plus-storage project in Chile. 
Premium
May 27, 2025
Inverters are critical to PV systems but are often over-specified due to inadequate data on which materials and designs optimise performance.
Premium
May 19, 2025
The increasing sophistication of inverters means they have a role in everything from cybersecurity to home energy management.
May 2, 2025
The Q2 2025 edition (Volume 42) of our downstream solar PV journal, PV Tech Power, is now available to download.
Premium
March 12, 2025
PV Talk: “It then has gone to 1,500V and we’re on the precipice of another change," ABB's Brian Nelson tells PV Tech Premium.

Subscribe to Newsletter

Upcoming Events

Solar Media Events
June 17, 2025
Napa, USA
Upcoming Webinars
June 30, 2025
10am PST / 6pm BST
Solar Media Events
July 1, 2025
London, UK
Solar Media Events
July 1, 2025
London, UK
Solar Media Events
September 16, 2025
Athens, Greece