Why battery storage could soon surpass solar in the UK

For a decade or more, solar energy has dominated the UK’s clean‑energy conversation.

Supported by early subsidies, falling setup costs, and rising public concern over climate change, rooftop solar panels have become a visible symbol of decarbonisation.

So much so that today, more than 1.6 million UK homes have solar panels installed, representing approximately 17 GW of cumulative capacity.

However, another potentially more disruptive eco technology is now emerging. Battery storage is quickly moving from niche add‑on to a standalone energy investment that could reshape how UK households and businesses consume, store, and interact with electricity.

As energy price volatility persists, grids require additional resilience, and consumers demand greater control over their bills, I see no reason for this trend to show any signs of slowing.

Flexibility need

There is no doubt that the UK grid is under mounting pressure. Electricity demand is rising year on year as transport and heating increasingly goes electric.

At the same time, the generation mix is becoming increasingly dependent on variable renewables. In fact, over the past year, approximately 40% of the UK’s energy came from renewable sources.

Pricing models are also shifting. While most homes and businesses remain on flat‑rate tariffs, flexible time‑of‑use (ToU) pricing is expanding, buoyed by enhanced smart meter rollout and market-wide half-hourly settlement (MHHS).

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So much so, that recent analysis shows that around 9% of UK households are now on flexible ToU tariffs.

This matters because flexibility – rather than generation alone – is becoming one of the most valuable assets in the energy system. Batteries are uniquely positioned to monetise that flexibility.

Battery benefits 

Battery storage allows consumers to buy electricity when it is cheap and use or export it when it is expensive. This price arbitrage will only become increasingly attractive as peak‑to‑off‑peak spreads widen.

A point many overlook is that batteries do not require solar panels to be economically viable. Battery‑only installations can charge overnight on low‑cost tariffs and discharge during the evening peak. This opens them up to all as they don’t require roof suitability, export conditions, and the sun to shine to be effective.

Modern lithium‑ion batteries are proving to be a catalyst to take up. They are compact, wall‑mounted, and increasingly standardised.

UK adoption of battery systems is gathering pace. In 2024 alone, more than 22,000 home battery systems were installed, bringing total installed domestic storage capacity to over 400 MWh.

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Monthly battery installations rose from dozens per month in 2022 to over 1,000 per month in 2024, signalling a shift from early adopters to mass‑market uptake.

Market forecasts reflect this momentum. The UK residential battery storage market is projected to grow from £3.4 billion in 2025 to £11.8 billion by 2031, a compound annual growth rate of over 23%.

Brand recognition is certainly helping accelerating adoption. Tesla’s Powerwall has helped normalise battery storage as a mainstream household technology, and in March the company received Ofgem approval to supply electricity directly in Great Britain, signalling deeper integration between batteries, tariffs, and grid services.

This visibility drives education. Not only among consumers, but across installers, suppliers, and regulators alike. Lowering friction throughout the value chain.

Batteries vs solar

Just under one in 20 UK households currently have solar, with uptake heavily skewed toward detached, owner‑occupied homes in the south of England. There is no doubt that solar remains highly effective where conditions allow, but it faces structural limitations.

Batteries, by contrast, have much wider appeal. They are viable in flats, shared occupancy offices, shaded buildings, and other areas where solar is impractical. They also align more directly with how UK electricity is priced, rather than how it is generated.

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The implications of the move to battery storage are significant. Even modest adoption – say 20% of UK homes and businesses installing batteries – would represent several gigawatts of highly responsive, distributed capacity.

Through virtual power plants (VPPs), home batteries are already being aggregated to provide grid services such as peak shaving and reserve capacity. Platforms operated by Octopus Energy, SolarEdge, Kraken, and others are all integrating thousands of domestic batteries into flexibility markets.

This is happening just in time, too. Recent policy analysis suggests the UK will require 23–27 GW of battery storage by 2030 to maintain stability, with 10–15 GW expected to come from behind‑the‑meter assets, underscoring the strategic importance of household participation.

Shift in focus

In my view, battery storage is emerging as one of the most important developments in the UK energy market. While solar will remain a cornerstone of decarbonisation, the future of the UK grid may ultimately be defined not by how electricity is generated, but by how intelligently it is stored, shifted, and deployed.

As the market shifts focus from energy generation to energy management, storage becomes the logical focal point. In many cases, solar may evolve into an optional add‑on to a battery‑first strategy, rather than the other way round.

David Sheldrake is chief revenue officer at energy software company POWWR.