Bulgaria, Chile Lead “Anytime Solar” With Batteries

• Ember reports anytime solar is here: Bulgaria’s batteries surged from near zero to 8.6 GWh by May 2026, covering nearly a quarter of evening demand—while global storage boosts solar after dark.

Ember says fast-growing battery deployments are pushing “anytime solar” into reality, letting solar power supply electricity after dark. It highlights Bulgaria and Chile as leading markets. Bulgaria’s installed battery capacity rose from near zero in 2023 to 3 GWh in 2025, then to 8.6 GWh by May 2026. In the first half of 2026, solar plus batteries covered nearly one quarter of Bulgaria’s electricity demand between 7 pm and 9 pm.

Ember projects batteries will add 459 GWh globally in 2026, up 50% year-on-year, enabling 34% of new daily solar generation to be shifted to non-sunlight hours. The analysis points to Bulgaria and Chile as standout examples of how storage is unlocking solar’s value beyond daylight.

How are batteries turning Bulgaria and Chile into “anytime solar” leaders?

- Bulgaria: from solar peaks to night supply
- Grid-scale batteries are increasingly pairing with rooftop and utility solar to store daytime generation and release it in the evening peak.
- Battery growth is rapid enough to make evening “solar time-shift” measurable: when storage is available during the post-sunset window, more of solar’s output can replace imported electricity or slower-to-ramp generation.
- Use-case focus: batteries help shave peak demand between early evening hours, when power prices and system stress are often highest.
- System impact: concentrating storage near where solar is growing can reduce curtailment risk and improve the predictability of solar’s contribution to the grid.

- Bulgaria: why the market is emerging as a “storage-ready” case
- Fast capacity buildout means utilities and aggregators can coordinate charging and discharging around demand patterns rather than treating solar as a daytime-only resource.
- As battery deployments scale, the ecosystem of installers, service providers, and operational know-how strengthens—making further projects easier to finance and run.
- The result is a clearer pathway toward “anytime solar,” where solar becomes a dispatchable resource rather than a variable one.

- Chile: turning strong solar conditions into 24/7 value
- Chile’s geography and solar resource make daytime generation abundant, but evenings and nighttime require firm capacity—batteries provide that missing link.
- Battery storage converts excess midday production into electricity during evening demand, smoothing daily generation profiles.
- This is particularly valuable where daytime solar can otherwise face grid constraints, because storage increases the amount of solar energy that can be used rather than curtailed.

- Chile: accelerating a dispatchable solar market
- Deployment momentum is driven by the economics of shifting energy from high-generation hours into high-value demand periods.
- Batteries also support grid stability by responding quickly to fluctuations in solar output and load, improving how reliably solar can be counted on.
- As storage scales, it enables more solar capacity to be integrated while maintaining system performance—strengthening the “anytime solar” concept.

- Shared lesson from both countries: what batteries change
- Energy shifting: batteries make solar useful after dark by moving power from daylight production windows into evening/night demand.
- Peak reduction: stored solar can supply parts of the daily peak when alternatives would otherwise need to ramp or run at higher cost.
- Better grid outcomes: storage can reduce curtailment pressure and improve operational reliability as solar shares rise.
- Market transformation: once batteries become common, solar planning shifts from “daytime generation” to “all-day energy service,” pushing both systems and investors toward a dispatchable future.