The energy storage market in the United States, including grid-scale, residential and community, commercial, and industrial segments, experienced an 80% year-over-year (YoY) growth in the second quarter (Q2) of 2023, adding a total of 5,597 MWh, found the latest report by Wood Mackenzie and American Clean Power Association.

The report reveals that the grid-scale energy storage segment was pivotal in driving this growth with 5,109 MWh, an impressive 172% quarter-over-quarter expansion.

California emerged as the leader in this sector, contributing 738 MW and accounting for a substantial 49% share of the total installed capacity.

While community, commercial, and industrial (CCI) installations reached 107 MWh, surpassing any quarter in 2022, they faced a 53% quarterly decline compared to the substantial spike in last quarter’s installations. Nevertheless, the CCI segment continues to grow significantly, with a 25% YoY increase.

In contrast, residential storage experienced its second consecutive quarter of decline, totaling 381.2 MWh, slightly behind last quarter’s figure of 388.2 MWh. California witnessed the most substantial decline, with a 17% decrease quarter-over-quarter and a 37% drop YoY.

John Hensley, Vice President of Research and Analytics at the American Clean Power Association, said, “The energy storage market is on pace for a record year, as utilities and larger power users increasingly turn to storage to enhance the grid and improve reliability. Despite supply chain challenges and interconnection delays, the market is poised to nearly double annual installations and continue its rapid growth in the coming years.”

Wood Mackenzie’s five-year forecast from 2023 to 2027 predicts that the grid-scale segment will remain the primary driver of the market, contributing to 83% of total installations, equivalent to 55 GW.

Several projects that had faced delays in previous quarters due to supply chain issues were successfully realized in the past quarter. However, despite these achievements, the expected pipeline did not materialize fully, resulting in more than 2 GW of projects being pushed back.

According to a report by the Solar Energy Industries Association and Wood Mackenzie, the U.S. solar industry installed 5.6 GWdc of new capacity in Q2 2023, a YoY increase of 20%.

A U.S. Energy Information Administration report suggests that power developers and project owners could add utility-scale battery storage capacity of up to 30 GW in the U.S. over the next three years.