Solar Magazine – New record US, 5,597 MWh of energy storage systems installed

The grid-wide segment led the way with 5,109 MWh of new installations in the second quarter, surpassing the old record set in the fourth quarter of 2021 by 5 percent.

172 percent
The grid-scale segment grew 172 percent quarter-on-quarter, according to the US Energy Storage Monitor report in the latest edition of the Wood Mackenzie and American Clean Power Association (ACP) report. California led the way with a 49 percent market share.

“The energy storage market has had a record year as utilities and large energy users increasingly turn to energy storage to improve the grid and increase reliability,” said John Hensley, vice president of research and analysis at ACP. “Despite supply chain challenges and interoperable delays, the market is set to nearly double annual installations. The market will also grow rapidly in the coming years.’

Revival
Wood Mackenzie predicts that grid-scale segmentation will be a key driver of the energy market. During 2023-2027, the market segment will account for 83 percent of total installations, with a capacity of 55 GW.

“We saw a big rebound in the second quarter,” said Vanessa Witte, senior analyst at Wood Mackenzie’s energy storage group. “Several projects that were postponed in previous quarters, mostly due to supply chain issues, were able to complete last quarter. But with more than 2 GW of projects deferred, the expected pipeline was not fully realized.

Growth projections
Community, commercial and industrial (CCI) energy storage systems accounted for 107 MWh in the second quarter, and home batteries accounted for 381.2 MWh.

Witte concludes: ‘In our 5-year outlook, we still predict strong growth for the residential segment with a total capacity of 8.0 GW in 2027. However, the CCI segment is lagging behind growth projections and we have 5-year growth. The forecast is for a 28 percent decline to 3 GW.