Energy Storage Group Sees Record U.S. Grid-Scale Installations

Researched by Industrial Info Resources (Sugar Land, Texas)--The U.S. grid-scale energy storage market set a record during the first quarter this year, with installations totaling 747 megawatts (MW)/2,399 megawatt-hours (MWh), according to a report by the American Clean Power Association (ACP) (Washington, D.C.) and Wood MacKenzie (Edinburgh, U.K.).

The volume of U.S. grid-scale installations was four times the volume seen in the first quarter of last year, despite continued procurement difficulties and project delays, according to the latest U.S. Energy Storage Monitor report.

"Quarter one of 2022 was the largest first quarter on record by far for grid-scale installations, a notable milestone since installations are typically back-weighted to the second half of the year. The West Coast and Southwest regions continue to dominate for both standalone and hybrid systems," said Vanessa Witte, senior analyst with Wood Mackenzie's energy storage team, in a press release.

Grid-scale deployments during the quarter remained focused in Texas, California and Nevada, with Florida's short-term growth replaced by other new entrants, according to the report's executive summary.

Industrial Info is tracking more than $3.5 billion worth of battery energy-storage system (BESS) projects under construction. Subscribers to Industrial Info's Global Market Intelligence (GMI) Power Project Database can click here for a list of detailed project reports.

Click on the image at right for a chart showing BESS under-construction project spending by U.S. market region.

"Overall, the industry continues to deliver significant growth, though project delays yield a 2022 forecast downgrade," according to the report summary. The alleged circumvention of antidumping and countervailing duties (AD/CVD) on solar power parts tariff suit against southeast Asian countries lowered projections for hybrid projects significantly in 2022, though the tariffs have now been paused.

Invoking a Korean War-era federal law earlier this month, President Joe Biden provided a two-year exemption to solar panel companies from tariffs on imported parts, easing the flow of technology from China and other countries for use in the U.S. For more information, see June 9, 2022, article - U.S. Invokes Korean War-Era Law to Boost Clean Energy.

The report goes on to say 1.2 gigawatts of grid-scale storage originally scheduled to come online during the first quarter have been delayed, with about three-quarters still slated to come online in 2022.

"In addition, supply-chain issues, transportation delays, and interconnection queue hang-ups were the main drivers of changes in project COD (commercial operation rates)," according to the summary.

Despite the first-quarter gains, the grid-scale market is on hold in the short term, according to the report's U.S. energy storage five-year market outlook, due in part to the market disruption caused by the U.S. solar tariff trade case. It added: "A subset of developers had already procured equipment or stayed the course throughout the tariff debacle, and their projects will move forward on schedule. Some international developers shifted focus to countries that show promise while waiting out the US tariff case."

U.S. BESS projects under construction being tracked by Industrial Info include:

• Enel Green Power North America's(Andover, Massachusetts) 90-MW Fence Post PB Solar Project in Karen, Texas, next to the new Fence Post Solar Project; subscribers can click here to learn more.
• BrightSource Energy Incorporated's (Oakland, California) 350-MW Crimson PV Solar Plant near Blythe, California; see project report.
• D.E. Shaw Group's (New York, New York) 150-MW Arroyo Solar BESS near Crownpoint, New Mexico, to be located on the existing San Juan generating station site after it is decommissioned; click here for more details.

Subscribers can click here for the project reports cited in this article and here for the related plant profiles.

Industrial Info Resources (IIR) is the world's leading provider of market intelligence across the upstream, midstream and downstream energy markets and all other major industrial markets. IIR's Global Market Intelligence Platform (GMI) supports our end-users across their core businesses, and helps them connect trends across multiple markets with access to real, qualified and validated project opportunities. Follow IIR on: LinkedIn.