EIA Predicts Significant Growth in Battery Storage By End of 2025

The latest Preliminary Monthly Electric Generator Inventory from the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) shows that battery storage is expected to increase substantially over the next few years. The EIA reports that battery storage will reach about 30 gigawatts (GW) by the end of 2025.

The Electric Generator Inventory surveys allow developers and power plant owners to report their operational and planned additions, such as battery storage, and the latest data predicts significant growth for battery storage capacity. Although in 2020 battery storage in the U.S. was slim, it has increased to 7.8 GW of utility-scale battery storage by October 2022. Another 1.4 GW of battery storage are expected to be operational by the end of 2022.

According to the survey, developers and power plant owners will add another 20.8 GW of battery storage capacity from 2023 to the end of 2025. Of these 20.8 GW, over 75% will be installed in Texas (7.9 GW) and California (7.6 GW).

Battery storage capacity growth is outpacing the similar early growth in utility-scale solar capacity in the U.S., which expanded from 1 GW in 2010 to 13.7 GW in 2015. For battery storage, capacity will increase from only 1.5 GW in 2020 to about 30 GW before 2026.

Battery storage is important in the clean energy transition. Battery storage capacity makes renewables like wind and solar, which can be intermittent depending on the weather, more stable.

The U.S. is not alone in seeing exponential battery storage capacity growth. According to BloombergNEF, global energy storage installations could reach a total of 411 GW by the end of this decade, 15 times more than energy storage that was online in 2021. Clean energy tax credits made available by the Inflation Reduction Act will help accelerate energy storage in the U.S.

“The energy storage industry is facing growing pains. Yet, despite higher battery system prices, demand is clear. There will be over 1 terawatt-hour of energy capacity by 2030,” Helen Kou, an energy storage associate at BNEF, said in a statement. “The largest power markets in the world, like China, the US, India and the EU, have all passed legislation that incentivizes energy storage deployments.”