The growing use of solar and wind energy means utilities and consumers are likely to want more battery storage, and Tesla is the leading provider.
Renewable energy sources like solar panels and wind turbines are expanding at a rapid rate in the United States, and changing the way that the power grid operates. That opens a major new opportunity for companies like Tesla that build battery systems for electric storage. In fact, Tesla could start profiting off this trend a lot sooner than investors seem to expect, note analysts at Morgan Stanley.
Until recently, there’s been relatively minimal demand for battery storage. Utilities have not relied much on battery storage. And it’s generally been too expensive for homeowners who have installed solar roofs to buy battery storage units so they can run electric devices when the sun isn’t shining.
But as more people generate their own energy and utilities add more intermittent power sources like solar farms and wind turbines, battery storage starts to make more sense. California utilities, for instance, are now turning to battery storage to smooth some of the spikes and dips in energy production created by less predictable sources like solar and wind.
The Morgan Stanley analysts expect this trend to continue, with energy storage demand jumping to between $2 billion and $4 billion in 2020 from $300 million now. Eventually, the market could rise to about 85 gigawatts, or $30 billion. Most of the demand will come from utilities looking to smooth out their energy needs and create backup power for outages, the analysts predict. Tesla is on track to create 35 gigawatts of electricity per year at its Gigafactory in Nevada, according to the analysts. (A gigawatt can power about 750,000 homes.)
More than half of the 24 gigawatts of new capacity added in the U.S. in 2016 was from renewable sources, notes the Energy Information Administration.
The analysts see energy storage adding about $5 to Tesla’s stock, a bump of just 2% to its current $257 price. But in a bullish scenario it could add $14. Not a bad spark. Big Picture: Tesla could profit from a growing demand for energy storage, according to Morgan Stanley analysts.
GXY Price at posting:
59.5¢ Sentiment: Buy Disclosure: Held
