According to a new report from the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA), U.S. battery storage capacity has been growing since 2021 and could increase by 89 percent by the end of 2024 if developers bring all of the energy storage systems they have planned on line by their intended commercial operation dates.

Developers currently plan to expand U.S. battery capacity to more than 30 gigawatts (GW) by the end of 2024, a capacity that would exceed those of petroleum liquids, geothermal, wood and wood waste, or landfill gas.

According to the EIA, planned and currently operational U.S. utility-scale battery capacity totaled around 16 GW at the end of 2023. Developers plan to add another 15 GW in 2024 and around nine GW in 2025.

In addition, according to the EIA, battery storage projects are getting larger in the United States. Example: “The battery storage facility owned by Vistra and located at Moss Landing in California is currently the largest in operation in the country, with 750 megawatts (MW),” said the report.

In fact, two states with rapidly growing wind and solar generating fleets account for the bulk of the capacity additions. California has the most installed battery storage capacity of any state, with 7.3 GW, followed by Texas with 3.2 GW.

The rapid growth of variable solar and wind capacity in states such as California and Texas supports growth in battery storage, which works by storing excess power in periods of low electricity demand and releasing power when electricity demand is high. The remaining states, according to the EIA, have a total of around 3.5 GW of installed battery storage capacity.

Developers expect to bring more than 300 utility-scale battery storage projects on-line in the U.S. by 2025, and around 50 percent of the planned capacity installations will be in Texas.

The five largest new U.S. battery storage projects that are scheduled to be deployed in California and Texas in 2024 or 2025 are:

· Lunis Creek BESS SLF (Texas, 621 MW)

· Clear Fork Creek BESS SLF (Texas, 600 MW)

· Hecate Energy Ramsey Storage (Texas, 500 MW)

· Bellefield Solar and Energy Storage Farm (California, 500 MW)

· Dogwood Creek Solar and BESS (Texas, 443 MW).