Between April 1 and June 30, 2019, behind the meter residential energy storage in the US experienced its greatest increase in history — 35 megawatt-hours, according to a new US Energy Storage Monitor report from Wood Mackenzie Power & Renewables and the US Energy Storage Association. That represents a 20% increase from the same quarter a year ago. In all, 75.9 megawatt-hours of front of the meter and behind the meter energy storage were deployed in the second quarter of 2019.
Source: Wood Mackenzie
The increase reflects rising customer interest and supporting incentives in more state markets the report says. The previous megawatt record for residential energy storage was set in Q2 2018 when 26 megawatt-hours were deployed.
Utility scale front of the meter energy storage grew by 66% in Q2, driven by continued large scale utility procurements and developer interest in independent system operator markets as shown by surging interconnection requests.
“The long-term growth trends of energy storage deployment nationwide are encouraging and consequential for stakeholders, and for all electricity users who want and deserve a more resilient, efficient, sustainable and affordable electricity grid,” says Kelly Speakes-Backman, CEO of the US Energy Storage Association.
“Federal lawmakers should take note that they can help to build upon this growth, and indeed result in a 16 percent upside for the U.S. storage market, by providing a long term policy direction for every region of the country by making energy storage an explicit, standalone criteria in the federal Investment Tax Credit .” At the present time, that tax credit only applies to energy storage that is paired with solar power.
Dan Finn-Foley, head of energy storage for Wood Mackenzie Power & Renewables, adds, “The nascent energy storage market in the U.S. continues to grow in fits and starts but sign posts such as the record residential storage quarter, massive front of the meter pipeline growth, and innovative policies such as the Massachusetts clean peak standard point towards an industry that is maturing and should stabilize at scale over the next two years.”
In the second quarter of 2019, California led the residential and non-residential energy storage markets in megawatt-hour terms, with Hawaii in second place on the residential side and Massachusetts coming in second for non-residential BTM storage. Texas and Maine were the quarter’s top states for FTM storage at 10 megawatt-hours each.
Wood Mackenzie estimates the energy storage market will grow tenfold between 2019 and 2024, bolstered by supportive policy structures and new opportunities for storage to provide wholesale market services.
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