Big Grid-Scale Battery System Trends: New Data and Analysis from Bloomberg

     Grid batteries have been growing by leaps and bounds. They have also been playing an increasing role in ensuring reliability during demand peaks, especially in California and Texas. Bigger grid battery projects have also been deployed. As reported by Bloomberg:

“Energy storage has become a linchpin” for avoiding disruptions, says Joseph Williamson, vice president for projects at esVolta LP, the company that developed and owns the Hummingbird facility, which will store electricity delivered by a nearby PG&E substation. EsVolta will sell the energy back to grid customers as needed.

The first grid-scale battery was deployed in California in 2013. The graph below from Bloomberg shows the accelerated growth in grid battery deployment. Deployments grew significantly after the August 2020 heat wave in California as the graph depicts. Bloomberg New Energy Finance estimates that 8,171MW of storage was installed in California between 2021 and 2023. The state has been able to be free of rolling blackouts since then despite several heat waves. Texas also accelerated grid battery deployment subsequently dodging some outages due to heatwave demand spikes.  

     Grid batteries have fallen significantly in price over the past decade, and they can be deployed relatively quickly. There have been no issues with opposition to their deployment. Fires are a danger for lithium-ion batteries. Bloomberg reports:

“After several fires at large battery installations—including a 2022 blaze that briefly shut down California’s Highway 1—developers switched battery formulas so that cells are less prone to overheating.”

     China passed the US as the world’s biggest energy storage market in 2023. The graph below depicts global grid battery storage by country.

     Another emerging trend is increasing battery operating times with new battery chemistries and the development of longer-duration energy storage.

 

References:

 

Giant Batteries Are Transforming the World’s Electrical Grids. David R Baker, Bloomberg Businessweek. January 17, 2025. Giant Batteries Are Transforming the World’s Electrical Grids

Battery-Powered California Faces Lower Blackout Risk This Summer. David R Baker. Bloomberg. May 29, 2024. Battery-Powered California Faces Lower Blackout Risk This Summer - Bloomberg