Commercial and industrial (C&I) ESS is experiencing a surge in growth, entering a phase of rapid development. The increase in installations for utility-scale ESS far outpaces that of other types. In the realm of residential energy storage, projections for new installations in 2024 stand at 11GW/20.9GWh, reflecting a modest 5% and 11% increase.
The US utility-scale storage sector saw tremendous growth over 2022 and 2023. The volume of energy storage installations in the United States in 2022 totaled 11,976 megawatt hours (MWh)—a figure surpassed in the first three quarters of 2023 when installations hit 13,518 MWh by cumulative volume.
In the realm of residential energy storage, projections for new installations in 2024 stand at 11GW/20.9GWh, reflecting a modest 5% and 11% increase. With the decline in both power and natural gas prices, observations from 2023 installations suggest a diminishing sense of urgency for residential installations.
Regarding ESS types, commercial and industrial (C&I) energy storage systems are entering a phase of swift development, surpassing the incremental growth of utility-scale installations and other ESS types by a significant margin.
Principally, this means that a PTC-electing eligible energy production facility (such as a solar facility now eligible to elect to use the PTC after the IRA) may be paired with an energy storage facility without impacting the ability to claim an ITC for the storage facility.
Construction risks: It is common practice to see multiple equipment supply, construction, and installation contracts rather than one turnkey engineering, procurement, and construction (EPC) contract for energy storage projects.