US battery storage capacity increased by 52% year-over-year, to 10.8 GW by the end of Q1: report

US battery storage capacity increased by 52% year-over-year, to 10.8 GW by the end of Q1: report | Utility Dive

Dive Brief:

- Battery storage capacity in the U.S. increased by 52% year-over-year, to 10.8 GW by the end of the first quarter, according to S&P Global.
- A fraction of the proposed 2.4 GW additions came online. Nearly 3.2 GW are expected to be added in the second quarter.
- The added capacity represents a 7% increase from the end of 2022, according to an S&P Global Commodity Insights report using government filings. The data include facilities that began commercial operation or were synchronized to the grid.

Dive Insight:

The Electric Reliability Council of Texas footprint added the most capacity in the first quarter, 498.6 MW, ending the three-month period with 3.3 GW, or 30.5% of U.S. capacity. The California Independent System Operator leads the nation with 5.2 GW, or 48.2% of U.S. capacity.

The Western Electricity Coordinating Council added 115 MW, or 16.2% of total U.S installations in Q1. Each of the other regions installed less than 3%.

The largest projects completed in the first quarter were in ERCOT and WECC and included Acciona Energy North America's 190-MW BT Cunningham Storage in Texas, Aypa Power Development's 155.5-MW Wolf Tank Storage facility in Texas and Key Capture Energy's 51.5-MW KCE TX 19 facility and 51.5-MW KCE TX 21 facility, both in Texas.

Others included NextEra Energy Resources' 50-MW Buena Vista Energy Center in New Mexico and Arizona Public Service's 50-MW El Sol battery energy storage system.

If all 3.2 GW of proposed second-quarter additions are completed and connected to the grid, overall battery storage capacity would be about 14 GW in the U.S.

While first-quarter additions shifted to ERCOT, the West is expected to again lead in U.S. capacity in the second quarter. Developers in CAISO are expected to add 1.6 GW, or 51.1% of all U.S. planned additions, while WECC is projected to add 1.2 GW, or 38%. ERCOT is proposed to be third in line with 200 MW added, or 6.3% of Q2 additions.

The five largest projects proposed to be completed in the second quarter are in the West: Vistra Energy's 350-MW Moss Landing Energy Storage 3 facility in California; NextEra Energy Resources' 260-MW Sonoran Solar Energy facility in Arizona; DE Shaw Renewable Investments' 150-MW Arroyo Energy Storage facility in New Mexico; and two RWE Clean Energy facilities in California — a 137-MW Fifth Standard Solar PV facility and 131-MW CED Westside Canal Battery Storage facility.

The largest battery storage facility in operation is Florida Power and Light's 409-MW Manatee Energy Storage Center, which started operations in the fourth quarter of 2021.