U.S. Battery Installations Increased 3x in 2021

By Cormac O’Laoire

On 2 June 2022 the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) released its survey of new electric generation early. It was hard not to notice the more than 300% growth in battery energy storage (BESS) capacity. Total installations grew from 1,438 megawatts in 2020 to 4,631 megawatts in 2021. Installations in areas with organized wholesale electricity markets run by regional transmission organizations comprised 78% of the 106 utility scale projects (3,202 megawatts). Areas with vertically integrated utilities represented only 22% of installations.

Massive projects such as Moss Landing and McCoy Solar, both in California, drove the growth of new BESS markets with applications focused on arbitrage, load management and load response in the case of excess solar and wind. Arbitrage accounted for over 50% of all 2021 battery installations.

Flexible projects supporting both new applications and traditional ancillary applications grew significantly, reflecting the direction of the industry. Solar co-location emerged as another trend in battery installations, accounting for over 93% of installed battery capacity in 2021.

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News coverage: Battery storage capacity more than tripled in 2021 (pv magazine)