A trial program in France found that battery storage for solar-generated electricity is competitive with diesel generators and grid power in places where electricity costs more than 30 euro cents per kilowatt hour. With the average price of electricity in Europe around 21 euro cents per kilowatt hour, it is not yet time for wide deployment of batteries as part of the power supply. However, that threshold could be reached in five to ten years with incremental improvements in the technology. In the meantime, each step up in battery performance (or in the price of fossil fuels) makes battery storage practical in a few more places.
The story at Reuters: French renewables power grid pilot shows limits of batteries in Europe
