Part of Grid Network »
Grid Professionals Group
The Grid Professionals Group covers electric current from its transmission step down to each customer's home.
Post
US Deploys Record Amount of Energy Storage
image credit: © Malpetr | Dreamstime.com
The USA has installed over 5GWh of energy storage in the third quarter of 2022, which is the highest figure on record and almost half the total amount of storage deployed in 2021.
These figures come from a report by research group Wood Mackenzie Power & Renewables. Most of these were grid scale projects, deployed in California and Texas. Although grid-scale projects were the most numerous, residential schemes have also seen strong growth.
A total 161MW/400MWh of residential battery systems, equivalent to more than 23,000 installs deployed in Q3 2022 overtakes the previous quarter's record of 375MWh. California and Texas were also among the leaders in the residential sector, joined by Puerto Rico and Hawaii, both of which are booming markets for storage due to their island grids and reliance on imported fuels.
Wood Mackenzie also said that the non-residential segment it reports on, comprising commercial and industrial (C&I) and community energy storage, is also set for growth in the coming years. However, it continues to underperform significantly compared to the other segments, with only 26.6MW/56.2MWh of new installations on record for the third quarter 2022.
Wood Mackenzie anticipated Q4 2022 being another busy three months for grid-scale developments. By mid-November the firm had already tracked 600MW of deployments in the sector.
Well-documented market challenges, such as supply chain tightness caused by soaring demand for key materials like lithium carbonate, and logistics issues caused by the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, had been expected to cause a dip in installs as projects were delayed.
Another cause of issues, which is not limited to the energy storage market but applies more broadly across the energy sector, is the lengthy queues for interconnection to the grid. That continues to persist, although efforts are being made by stakeholders and regulators including the US Department of Energy (DOE), to rectify an often complex process. However, Wood Mackenzie said that the effect has been to delay projects, rather than cancel them, so perhaps a new record for installs will be set in 2023.
Discussions
No discussions yet. Start a discussion below.
Thank Julian for the Post!
Energy Central contributors share their experience and insights for the benefit of other Members (like you). Please show them your appreciation by leaving a comment, 'liking' this post, or following this Member.
Get Published - Build a Following
The Energy Central Power Industry Network® is based on one core idea - power industry professionals helping each other and advancing the industry by sharing and learning from each other.
If you have an experience or insight to share or have learned something from a conference or seminar, your peers and colleagues on Energy Central want to hear about it. It's also easy to share a link to an article you've liked or an industry resource that you think would be helpful.
Your access to Member Features is limited.
Sign in to Participate