The states of California and Texas are leading the surge in utility-scale battery energy storage systems in the United States.
Combined, California and Texas account for 72% of all operational battery storage systems in the nation, as well as for 65% of all planned battery storage developments, according to data from the Energy Information Administration (EIA) and energy data platform Cleanview, cited by Reuters columnist Gavin Maguire.
Currently, California has more than 9 gigawatts (GW) of operating battery storage systems, while Texas has around 4.8 GW of available battery storage, out of a total of 20.7 GW in the United States.
Another 28.6 GW of battery storage is currently in development and expected to become operational by the middle of 2026, per Cleanview's estimates.
In the first seven months of 2024, operators added 5 GW of utility-scale battery energy storage systems as a source of electric power capacity in the United States, the EIA said last week.
Back in 2010, only 4 megawatts (MW) of utility-scale battery energy storage was added in the United States.
As of July 2024, more than 20.7 GW of battery energy storage capacity was available in the United States, per EIA's electric generator inventory for July.
Battery storage installations are soaring in the United States thanks to incentives in the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA), which offers, for the first time, tax credits for standalone storage capacity.
In addition, collocating battery storage with solar generating systems has become a more popular choice among clean energy developers in the United States.
California and Texas are leading battery storage installations nationwide as the rapid growth of variable solar and wind capacity in these states supports growth in battery storage.
The EIA expects solar and battery storage to account for 81% of new U.S. electric-generating capacity in 2024. Solar is set to account for the largest share of new capacity, at 58%, followed by battery storage, at 23%.
By Tsvetana Paraskova for Oilprice.com
Tsvetana is a writer for Oilprice.com with over a decade of experience writing for news outlets such as iNVEZZ and SeeNews. More