U.S. Energy Storage Additions Hit a Record-High in Q2
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 new report by Wood Mackenzie and the American Clean Power Association (ACP) showed on Monday.
In the second quarter, grid-scale energy storage additions led the way with a record-breaking 5,109 MWh, which beat the previous record in the grid-scale segment from Q4 2021 by 5%, according to WoodMac and ACP.
Compared to the first quarter, the grid-scale energy storage installations surged by 172% in the second quarter of 2023, with California dominating the market with 738 megawatts (MW) and a 49% share of installed capacity.
“The energy storage market is on pace for a record year, as utilities and larger power users increasingly turn to storage to enhance the grid and improve reliability,” ACP VP of Research and Analytics, John Hensley, said in a statement.
“The market is on pace to nearly double annual installations despite supply chain challenges and interconnection delays and will continue to grow quickly in coming years,” Hensley added.
The second quarter marked a turnaround in U.S. grid-scale energy storage installations, after the second-straight quarterly decrease seen in the first quarter of 2023. The Q1 2023 setback was the result of supply chain issues and interconnection queue backlogs.
The rebound in the second quarter was due to projects that were able to come to fruition after being delayed from previous quarters because of supply-chain issues, Vanessa Witte, senior analyst with Wood Mackenzie’s energy storage team, said on Monday.
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Grid-scale energy storage will continue to be the main driver of the market in the five-year forecast through 2027, accounting for 83% of total installations, according to Wood Mackenzie.
Globally, the installation of battery energy storage systems (BESS) is set to soar by 2030, Rystad Energy said earlier this year. In the United States, the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) has catalyzed renewable and clean tech expansion, which is set to result in U.S. battery capacity exceeding 130 GW by 2030, according to Rystad Energy.
