The year 2025 exposed structural vulnerabilities in the global solar energy market, particularly in the sector's three largest hubs. China, the United States, and India faced regulatory, political, and commercial obstacles that directly impacted the progress of new projects and interrupted a historical sequence of accelerated growth.
This trend became evident in global indicators. By 2025, the world will have added approximately 655 GW of new solar capacity.
By 2026, Bloomberg NEF projects 649 GW of new installations, representing a decline of approximately 0,9% year-on-year, roughly 6 GW less than the volume recorded in the previous year.
If the estimate is confirmed, it will be the first time in almost two decades that the global solar market will cease to show accelerated annual growth, directly reflecting the slowdown observed in major markets.
But while the solar sector is undergoing a reorganization process, energy storage is gaining prominence worldwide.
In 2025, the segment surpassed the 100 GW mark in installed capacity for the first time, ending the year with 106 GW of new additions. For 2026, the expectation is for this expansion and consolidation trend to continue.
Storage will accelerate in 2025, and the market is already projecting ten times greater expansion.
According to a report by Wood Mackenzie, five major trends are expected to guide the direction of the energy storage industry, driven by technological advancements, the expansion of grid-scale applications, and the growing need for flexibility and reliability in global electrical systems. See below:
1) Global supply chains are undergoing restructuring.
One of the main trends identified is the reorganization of global supply chains. Despite China's leadership in raw material processing, component manufacturing, battery production, and systems integration, excess domestic capacity and increasing local content requirements in other countries are leading manufacturers to diversify investments outside of China.
This movement includes productive expansion in South and Southeast Asia, the Middle East, North Africa, Europe, and North America.
In the United States, Chinese companies are expected to announce new corporate structures in 2026 to meet the requirements of the FEoC (Equity of Conduct Statement), reducing their shareholding to less than 25% and regaining access to tax incentives. In the short term, however, the consultancy warns that these restrictions could put downward pressure on prices until mid-2026.
2) Storage becomes a regulatory requirement.
Another structural shift is occurring in the regulatory field. Wood Mackenzie indicates that 2026 will mark the transition to technology-based storage. grid-forming From a voluntary choice to a regulatory obligation in several countries.
With the rapid growth of renewables, the stability of electricity grids is being put to the test. By 2025, approximately 36% of global generation capacity will come from variable sources, a percentage that is expected to reach 56% by 2035.
This scenario reduces the presence of traditional synchronous power plants, such as thermal and hydroelectric plants, which have historically been responsible for the system's inertia.
In this context, grid-forming inverters are gaining prominence due to their ability to independently establish voltage and frequency, ensuring greater stability.
The expectation is that, starting in 2026, countries such as Germany, the United Kingdom, China, the United States, and Australia will begin requiring these technologies in new projects.
3) Technologies beyond lithium gain scale.
O report It also shows the rise of alternative technologies to lithium-ion batteries, such as sodium-ion, flow batteries, and iron-air systems.
These models may gain traction by offering competitive solutions for long-term applications, especially given the increasing complexity of global lithium supply chains.
Among the examples cited is the world's largest planned sodium-ion battery project, in the United States, with 4,75 GWh, in addition to the expansion of this technology in China and Europe. The expectation is that 2026 will see the consolidation of these solutions on a commercial scale.
4) Data centers drive a new wave of demand
The rapid growth of data centers is emerging as one of the main drivers of storage expansion. In the United States alone, more than 230 GW of new projects have already been announced, while Europe has a total of 35 GW and China projects a demand of 78 GW by 2030.
Faced with grid connection bottlenecks and long delivery times for gas turbines, energy storage systems are being used to ensure fast connectivity, regulate peak loads, increase energy resilience, and support corporate decarbonization goals.
5) Hybrid projects are gaining traction outside the US.
Finally, Wood Mackenzie highlights the global advancement of hybrid projects, which combine renewable generation with storage.
In countries like Australia and India, more than 50% of new projects are already integrated with battery systems, a strategy that reduces generation cuts, improves financial viability, and increases revenue.
In Europe, this model is also gaining traction, driven by the increase in hours with negative prices and difficulties connecting to the grid, consolidating energy storage as a central pillar of the global energy transition.
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