Acceptance of Ancillary Services and Willingness to Invest in PV-storage-systems

PV-storage-systems play a more and more important role in the energy system, especially in private households. Not only can they be used to increase self-consumption but they can provide ancillary services like peak-shaving or balancing energy. It can be tricky to use private PV-storage-systems for the latter because this could mean economic losses due to reduced self-consumption or there might be acceptance problems. Therefore, we carried out an empirical investigation to analyze acceptance issues and willingness to invest in PV-storage-systems. In a face-to-face interview 500 private PV owners in Germany were questioned regarding their willingness to invest and their acceptance of ancillary services under several circumstances. The survey was conducted during the period from Mai 2014 to August 2014. Results are motivations of willingness to invest in battery storage systems under different funding options and obstacles regarding the purchase of a PV-storage-system. The survey gives also hints on which frame conditions are relevant for acceptance of ancillary services.