US Energy Storage expected to double for second year running
The U.S. energy storage sector is booming according to the latest estimates from Wood Mackenzie Power & Renewables and the Energy Storage Association (ESA), which reported that the market nearly doubled in 2018 and predicted that it will double again in 2019.
Last year, that led to a total of 777 megawatt-hours deployed across the country, especially motivated by efforts at the state level. Even the residential storage market boomed, with reports pegging that market at quadruple growth over the course of 2018.
“Overall there was strong U.S. energy storage market growth in 2018, especially in the residential market which came into its own,” Brett Simon, senior storage analyst at Wood Mackenzie Power & Renewables, said. “The residential market is moving beyond early adopters who are seeking out storage systems for backup power. We’re seeing the rise of opportunities for time-of-use shifting, solar self-consumption, and even some early examples of employing residential storage for grid services.”
California continues to dominate the energy storage market, but Texas, New York and Hawaii are following its lead. Further, both the ESA and Wood Mackenzie note that every U.S. state can now be considered active in the storage market.
“Incorporating energy storage in utility planning processes proved to be a key policy theme as well, with the National Association of Regulatory Commissioners adopting a resolution calling on utilities to include storage in long-term planning efforts,” ESA CEO Kelly Speakes-Backman said. “At the federal level, FERC’s landmark, bipartisan Order 841 provided a critical policy signal that triggered discussions on storage deployment barriers in regional markets. Overall, 2018 was a banner year for energy storage, and 2019 is primed to repeat and expand on these successes.”
In all, Wood Mackenzie estimated 1,681 MWh of grid-connected storage will be deployed throughout 2019. Such growth leads them to conclude that the annual value of the U.S. energy storage market could exceed $2.4 billion next year.
