The U.S. energy storage market installed 7,322 MWh in the third quarter (Q3) of 2023, the highest capacity in a quarter to date, according to the U.S. Energy Storage Monitor report by Wood Mackenzie and the American Clean Power Association (ACP).

The cumulative capacity of energy storage installations in 2023 reached 13,518 MWh, surpassing the total volume in the whole of 2022, which stood at 11,976 MWh.

The report suggests that installations in Q3 could have been higher if not for the delay experienced by 80% of the projects that were in the pipeline.

“With another quarterly record, it’s clear that energy storage is increasingly a leading technology of choice for enhancing reliability and American energy security. As we continue to build a strong domestic supply chain, streamlined permitting and evolving market rules can further accelerate the deployment of storage resources,” said Frank Macchiarola., the chief policy officer at ACP.

Solar segments

The country’s grid-scale segment saw installations surge by 27% quarter-over-quarter (QoQ) to 6,848 MWh, registering a record-breaking third quarter for both megawatts (MW) and megawatt-hours (MWh) installed.

The residential solar segment bounced back from the low volume it recorded in Q2 at 166.7 MW to 381.4 MWh in Q3, a 29% QoQ increase.

The largest increase was recorded in California, which nearly doubled its installed capacity from the previous quarter to install 78.4 MW. A combined total of 88.32 MW was deployed across all states, compared to the 89.53 MW deployed in the previous quarter.

The deployment in the community, commercial, and industrial (CCI) storage segment fell by 7% QoQ, with installations finalizing at 30.3 MW and 92.9 MWh, respectively. The installations in California witnessed a 35% QoQ jump, offset by zero community storage deployments in Massachusetts during the quarter.

Forecast

According to a recent report by Wood Mackenzie, the U.S. storage market is forecasted to install approximately 63 GW between 2023 and 2027 across all segments, a 5% decline from the Q2 forecast.

The grid-scale segment is facing a volatile near-term pipeline, which has resulted in difficulty in bringing projects to mechanical completion. While the segment’s 2023 forecast increased just slightly due to strong Q3 volume, the remainder of the forecast lowered by 7% on average.

The residential segment is expected to double between 2023 and 2025, but growth slows later in the forecast period as solar penetration in California heightens. The 2023 CCI segment forecast declined 12% QoQ due to low installation volumes between Q1 and Q3 of 2023.

According to the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, solar plus storage hybrid projects were the most popular in the U.S. at the end of 2022, with 213 projects and 4 GW/12.5 GWh capacity. These projects have a storage-to-generator capacity ratio of 49% and a storage duration of 3.1 hours.

The U.S. installed 6.5 GW_dc of solar power project capacity in Q3 2023, a 35% year-over-year increase, according to a recent by Wood Mackenzie and Solar Energy Industries Association.