3,515MWh of new energy storage deployments in the US in the third quarter

According to the U.S. Energy Storage Monitor report recently released by Wood Mackenzie and the Energy Storage Association (ESA), the U.S. energy storage market reached a record high of 3,515MWh of energy storage systems deployed in the third quarter of 2021. And as momentum builds, that market record could be broken in the fourth quarter.

The report noted a significant increase due to the expected extension of the U.S. solar investment tax credit (ITC) policy, the investment tax credit (ITC) for independent deployment of energy storage systems, and the approval of the California solar and storage deployment plan. forecasts for energy storage deployments in the fourth quarter.

“The era of energy storage has arrived,” said Jason Burwen, interim CEO of the Energy Storage Association. “After the first 1 GW of storage installed last year, U.S. energy storage companies have installed 1 GW of energy storage in one quarter of this year. "Energy storage has always been seen as a game-changing energy technology in the electricity market, and the rapid growth of the energy storage market in the third quarter shows that the game has changed for electricity system investment."

According to the report, the U.S. deployed 998MW/3,198MWh of grid-side energy storage systems in the third quarter, with California, Texas and Arizona leading the U.S. energy storage market. California continued to lead the way in grid-side energy storage deployments, with three projects under development near Blythe by NextEra Energy Resources accounting for the majority of deployments in the third quarter. Energy storage projects developed by Broad Reach Power in Texas also boosted grid-side storage capacity in the third quarter.

Vanessa Witte, energy storage market analyst at Wood Mackenzie, said: “Based on our projections, as many as 4.7 GW of storage will be commissioned in the U.S. in 2021, which means the third-quarter increase is just a series of operations coming online this year and next. The beginning of a large-scale energy storage project.”

The report also indicated that the U.S. residential energy storage market saw a slight increase in installed capacity, with 97.9 MW/225 MWh of residential energy storage systems deployed in the third quarter. But the timeline for the deployment of residential solar-plus-storage projects remains in question, with a shortage of solar modules and battery products a major challenge in creating the backlog of these projects. However, energy storage providers and installers managed to increase residential energy storage deployments in the second quarter of this year.

In addition, the non-residential energy storage market also hit a new high with 43.6MW/92.1MWh deployed. Virtual grids and community solar projects with storage systems contributed most of the non-residential energy storage capacity in the third quarter, most of which were deployed in non-residential projects in California.

Burwen said: “Storage deployments will continue to break records for years to come, especially if the U.S. Congress approves investment tax credit (ITC) eligibility for independently deployed energy storage systems. As a result, it is predictable that distributed energy storage systems and large The deployment of large-scale energy storage systems will continue to grow strongly, while accelerating the decarbonization of the economy, increasing the resiliency of the power system, and creating more jobs.”