Tackling the Challenge of Energy Storage

Greater reliance on renewable energy has increased our need for storage solutions that can keep the grid stable.

This means balancing supply and consumption — even when it’s not sunny or breezy enough for solar and wind power to meet demand. And while the cost of lithium-ion batteries has fallen dramatically — about 80 percent over the last 5 years — innovative solutions are increasingly being developed, tested, and put into operation.

While storage capacity was markedly low as recently as 2020, growth in battery storage capacity is outpacing even the early growth of the U.S.’ utility-scale solar capacity. Domestic developers and power plant owners plan to increase utility-scale storage capacity over the next 3 years, reaching 30 gigawatts (GW) by 2025, up from 1.5 GW in 2020. For comparison, U.S. solar capacity grew from 1 GW in 2010 to 13.7 GW in 2015.¹

As more battery capacity becomes available to the U.S. grid, battery storage projects are becoming increasingly larger in capacity. Before 2020, the largest U.S. battery storage project was 40 megawatts (MW). Today, the 409 MW Manatee Energy Storage project in Florida is the largest-operating battery project in the country, and developers have more than 23 large-scale projects scheduled for completion by 2025.¹