Crucial to the renewable/clean energy revolution is the role of storage.
Renewable energy production can be highly erratic. Wind does not blow constantly at the same speed, the sun sets at night and there are cloudy days.
To solve this dilemma a good micro-grid based on renewable technologies will need to have a sufficient storage capacity to store surplus production for use when the grid is not producing at optimal capacity
Lithium-ion batteries have fallen in price thee and a half times since 2009.
Basically for the simple reason that the more you make of something the cheaper it becomes to make.
Not only that, but the technology is constantly being improved as manufacturers compete for the most efficient products in the market. Also, as demand and hence revenue increases, more money goes to research and development budgets which accelerates innovation in this space.
Manufacturing capacity is also being expanded at a massive rate to cater for the surge in demand especially from Electric Vehicles.
In 2018 it is expected that more than 50% of the demand for batteries will come from Electric Vehicles.
This is building up to an ever increasing wave of demand for storage and subsequent decrease in manufacturing cost.
As the cost of storage falls, smaller private energy farms become feasible.