Battery storage capacity in the United States could jump by 89% this year compared to 2023 if developers meet the deadlines of all energy storage systems they plan to bring online this year, the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) said on Tuesday.
As of November 2023, the U.S. had more than 15 gigawatts (GW) of planned and operational capacity, and developers plan to expand that battery capacity to more than 30 GW by the end of 2024, according to EIA's Preliminary Monthly Electric Generator Inventory. The more than 30-GW capacity would exceed those of petroleum liquids, geothermal, wood and wood waste, or landfill gas, the administration noted.
California and Texas lead the U.S. battery storage installations as their wind and solar generating fleets are rapidly growing.
As of the end of 2023, California had the most installed battery storage capacity of any state, 7.3 GW, followed by Texas with 3.2 GW, thanks to the surge in variable solar and wind capacity in the two states. The remaining U.S. states have a total of 3.5 GW of installed battery storage capacity, according to EIA's estimates.
Developers expect to bring more than 300 utility-scale battery storage projects on line in the United States by 2025, and about 50% of those will be in Texas. The five largest new U.S. battery storage projects that are scheduled to be deployed in 2024 or 2025 include four projects in Texas and one in California.
The Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) of 2022 gave new impetus to the U.S. battery storage market by introducing investment tax credits for standalone energy storage projects not connected with a solar or wind generation facility. With the IRA, standalone battery storage projects now qualify for tax credits, which has incentivized developers to announce and build more projects.
U.S. developers added 5,597 megawatt hours (MWh) of energy storage installations in the second quarter of 2023, setting a new quarterly record and putting the American energy storage market on track for a record year in 2023, a report by Wood Mackenzie and the American Clean Power Association (ACP) showed in September 2023.
By Michael Kern for Oilprice.com
Michael Kern is a newswriter and editor at Safehaven.com and Oilprice.com, More
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