BESS price rises after energy storage power station

Including all energy storage, its total installed capacity is now 137GW, meaning that 'new energy storage', mostly BESS, now exceeds its pumped hydro capacity. That is thanks to 43.7GW/109.8GWh of 'new energy storage' that was installed in 2024, CNESA said.

Factoring in these costs from the beginning ensures there are no unexpected expenses when the battery reaches the end of its useful life. To better understand BESS costs, it's useful to look at the cost per kilowatt-hour (kWh) stored. As of recent data, the average cost of a BESS is approximately $400-$600 per kWh. Here's a simple breakdown:

The cost of BESS has fallen significantly over the past decade, with more precipitous drops in recent years: This is nearly a 70% reduction in three years, owing to falling battery pack prices (now as low as $60-70/kWh in China), increased deployment, and improved efficiency.

“This cost decline has enabled BESS to become the primary technology utilised for power storage amid the advancing global energy transition and growing grid bottlenecks caused by intermittent renewables,” the report read. ALSO READ: Rooftop solar battery attachments up 35.5% in Q4 2023

Several factors can influence the cost of a BESS, including: Larger systems cost more, but they often provide better value per kWh due to economies of scale. For instance, utility-scale projects benefit from bulk purchasing and reduced per-unit costs compared to residential installations. Costs can vary depending on where the system is installed.

A BESS project in China deployed by Hyperstrong, the largest system integrator in the domestic market. Image: Hyperstrong. China has reached well over 70GW of installed BESS capacity, while DC block prices appear to be 'stable', a local metals price agency said.