Wind and solar storage will dominate European grid capacity in 2030
According to the latest research by WoodMackenzie, by 2030, the European power system will show a completely different situation, and energy storage will support wind power and photovoltaics as the main power sources of the grid. The grid capacity of the five major European power markets, the United States, France, Italy and Spain, will be connected to a larger proportion of wind power, photovoltaics 3kw home solar system kit price and other renewable energy sources. By 2040, Europe is expected to add another 169GW of wind energy and 172GW of photovoltaics.


With the surge in renewable energy capacity, Europe has four options to balance its power grid: pumped storage, gas peak generation, energy storage systems, and interconnected power grids. Among them, the latter three are expected to become the focus of new investment.
According to the current situation, “Peak gas power generation peak shaving is more important than ever. If there is a stable supply of natural gas, the unit can be fully operated within a few minutes, achieving higher efficiency and long-term operation capacity under power load. ."
It is expected that by 2020, battery energy storage will become a better choice to balance the European power grid and replace gas peak generation and peak gas replacement. The energy storage capacity of all energy sectors in Europe is expected to increase from the current 3GW (excluding pumped storage) to 26GW in 2030 and to 89GW by 2040.
Wood Mackenzie predicts that by 2040, Europe may have 320GWh of capacity to achieve system balance per second, most of which will come from grid-side battery energy storage systems.
By 2030, in all the target markets we have studied, energy storage systems will replace gas-fired power generation for peak shaving. Fuel and carbon prices are rising, and the cost of technology will not drop significantly. The zero carbon policy will eventually help all power markets achieve their decarbonization goals.

By 2040, coal and nuclear energy will become the biggest losers in the European energy system. After coal, gas without carbon capture will be the "next decommissioning target." By then, the European market will lose 410GW of nuclear power capacity because new projects cannot keep up with the decommissioning of other nuclear power plants. New construction projects in the UK also face funding challenges, which has forced the government to evaluate consumer bills to support new project financing.
Germany plans to decommission coal in 2038. It is also the last coal in Europe's major market to be decommissioned from grid capacity.
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