Abstract Photovoltaic (PV) systems can exhibit rapid variances in their power output due to irradiance changes which can destabilise an electricity grid. This paper presents a quantitative comparison of the suitability of different electrochemical energy storage system (ESS) technologies to provide ramp-rate control of power in PV systems. Our investigations show that, for PV systems ranging from residential rooftop systems to megawatt power systems, lithium-ion batteries with high energy densities (up to 600 Wh L−1) require the smallest power-normalised volumes to achieve the ramp rate limit of 10% min−1 with 100% compliance. As the system size increases, the ESS power-normalised volume requirements are significantly reduced due to aggregated power smoothing, with high power lithium-ion batteries becoming increasingly more favourable with increased PV system size. The possibility of module-level ramp-rate control is also introduced, and results show that achievement of a ramp rate of 10% min−1 with 100% compliance with typical junction box sizes will require ESS energy and power densities of 400 Wh L−1 and 2300 W L−1, respectively. While module-level ramp-rate control can reduce the impact of solar intermittence, the requirement is challenging, especially given the need for low cost and long cycle life.