In a recent report jointly conducted by Wood Mackenzie and the American Clean Power Association (ACP), it has been revealed that grid-scale energy storage installations in the United States achieved a remarkable milestone during the second quarter of 2023. This achievement underscores the pivotal role that grid-scale energy storage plays in stabilizing and regulating energy supply, particularly in grids increasingly dependent on intermittent sources such as wind and solar power.
ACP's Vice President of Research and Analytics, John Hensley, emphasized the significance of this development, stating, “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.”
During the second quarter of this year, the U.S. energy storage market witnessed the addition of 5,597 megawatt hours (MWh) of capacity, marking a new quarterly record across all segments of the industry. Notably, the grid-scale energy storage segment demonstrated remarkable growth, registering a staggering 172% increase quarter-over-quarter, surpassing the previous record set in the final quarter of 2021.
The state of California emerged as a dominant force in this surge, contributing to 49% of the total installed capacity, with an impressive 738 megawatts (MW) of grid-scale energy storage.
Vanessa Witte, a senior analyst with Wood Mackenzie's energy storage team, highlighted the resurgence seen in the second quarter, attributing it to projects that had been delayed in previous quarters due to supply chain disruptions. Witte stated, “Many projects delayed from prior quarters, largely due to supply chain issues, were able to come to fruition this past quarter.”
Wood Mackenzie's five-year forecast from 2023 to 2027 predicts that the grid-scale energy storage segment will continue to spearhead market growth, accounting for a substantial 83% of total installations.
In contrast, the community, commercial, and industrial (CCI) installations recorded 107 MWh in the second quarter, surpassing the figures of any quarter in 2022 but reflecting a 53% decline from the previous quarter. Residential storage, on the other hand, experienced its second consecutive quarter of decline, with a recorded capacity of 381.2 MWh, according to the report.
The surge in grid-scale energy storage capacity signifies a significant step forward in the United States' transition to a more sustainable and reliable energy grid, ensuring stability in the face of increasingly variable renewable energy sources.
