Solar firm pools battery power to help stabilise grids
Has 250 MWh so far, aims to quadruple that in next years
Depends on solar PV rollout and battery sales

FRANKFURT, Aug 16 Reuters Germany39;s sonnen, which provides storage batteries for rooftop solar systems, has connected 25,000 homes to the grid, amassing 250 megawatt hours MWh of capacity to help power networks manage supply and demand, it said on Wednesday.

Although 250 MWh is a tiny fraction of power demand in Western countries, it puts sonnen in the top league of European electricity storage providers, with electric carmaker Tesla offering a onesite facility of 196 MWh in Britain.

And the German company sees potential for much more.

The goal is now to raise the capacity to 1 gigawatt hour GWh over the next few years, Shellowned sonnen said in a statement, citing the rollout of solar roof panels and more battery sales as prerequisites.

Germany39;s cabinet is due to prepare a law on Wednesday, for passage in the autumn, to cut red tape and speed the rollout of photovoltaic power, possibly from 2024, in the lowcarbon energy transition.

Sonnen39;s 250 MWh capacity is enough to supply power to a big town for a few hours.

In 2015, sonnen introduced a digital community for its customers, who initially bought batteries to store power produced on their roofs during sunshine peaks and to release it later to reduce purchases from the grid.

From 2019, sonnen combined households willing to participate into a…