U.S. Utility-Scale Battery Capacity Expected to Triple Over Five Years: EIA

U.S. utility-scale battery capacity is expected to nearly triple by the end of 2023 if planned additions of about 1,623 megawatts come online as scheduled, according to a July 10 report from the U.S. Energy Information Administration. Grid-scale battery capacity more than quadrupled to almost 900 megawatts in March 2019 from 214 megawatts at the end of 2014, the agency said. 

• As of March 2019, states have reported 899 megawatts of installed utility-scale operating battery storage, of which, California, Illinois, and Texas account for almost half of the capacity.
• In the first quarter of this year, 60 megawatts of capacity came online, and an additional 108 megawatts will likely become operational by the end of the year.
• The Manatee Solar Energy Center, proposed to be built in Parish County, Florida, would be the largest solar-powered battery system in the world with a capacity of 409 MW.
• The Helix Ravenswood facility in Queens, New York would be the second-largest planned utility-scale battery storage facility with a capacity of 316 MW.
• Grid-scale installations are driven by state-level policies and the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission’s Order 841 that directs grid operators to facilitate the participation of these systems in wholesale energy, capacity, and ancillary services markets. 
• Pairing batteries with intermittent renewable resources, such as wind and solar, has become increasingly competitive compared with traditional generation options.