U.S. installs 3 GW / 10.5 GWh of energy storage in Q2 2024

Energy storage installations in the United States continue to grow as the share of intermittent renewable energy generation from sources like solar and wind expands, presenting a need for storing and dispatching electricity for when it is needed most.

 A quarterly report from Wood Mackenzie tackling Q2 2024 showed that across segments, U.S. developers commissioned 3,011 MW and 10,492 MWh of energy storage. It represents the second-largest capacity add in a quarter, and trails only Q4 2023 in total capacity, when 13,437 MWh came online.

The top markets thus far in 2024 accounted for most of the activity, with California, Arizona, and Texas responsible for 85% of installations. Across all segments, the industry is expected to deploy 12.8 GW/ 36.9 GWh in 2024.

“Additional storage capacity across U.S. markets is helping to provide a cost-effective and reliable solution to serious problems such as rising energy demand, a timely need for more overall capacity, and more volatile and extreme weather events,” said John Hensley, senior vice president of markets and policy analysis, American Clean Power Association.

Hensley said that to keep the growth trend going, developers are going to need to find ways to overcome the challenges of lengthy interconnection queues and permitting and siting issues.

“This quarter showed massive growth compared to year-ago levels and the grid-scale segment continues to be the main driver,” said Vanessa Witte, senior analyst with Wood Mackenzie’s energy storage team.

Witte noted that while residential storage installations did expand, it was still a somewhat slow quarter as California’s meteoric growth faltered. This, combined with low installations in Hawaii and Puerto Rico, which continue to be affected by incentive changes, led to more modest growth in the residential storage sector.

The report expects storage installations in 2024 to represent a 42% year-over-year growth compared to the 2023 total. Looking ahead, Wood Mackenzie expects storage deployments to grow at an average annual growth rate of 7.6% between 2025 and 2028.

Wood Mackenzie forecasts that through 2028, grid-scale storage will add 62 GW, and distributed storage will add 12 GW, with the residential segment representing 80% of distributed battery additions.