Sunny metaphors don\u2019t really work in the storage market, but the future does look bright. The United States closed 2024 with record-breaking storage installation numbers, and each coming year is predicted to be more charged than the last. Whether installed solo on utility-scale sites or attached with solar in the residential market, battery energy storage has found its stride.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe rapid energy storage deployment we\u2019re seeing in the United States not only enhances reliability and affordability but also drives economic expansion. This additional storage capacity is helping meet increasing energy demand and is supporting growing industries like manufacturing and data centers,\u201d said Noah Roberts, VP of energy storage for the American Clean Power Association (ACP), in a recent\u00a0\u201cU.S. Energy Storage Monitor\u201d report<\/a>. \u201cEnergy storage is crucial for energy security and to help outpace rising demand.\u201d<\/p>\n Grid-scale storage takes up the lion\u2019s share of install numbers. Q3 2024 reached a new record, with a total of 3.8 GW\/9.9 GWh deployed, and 3.4 GW\/9.1 GWh coming from grid-scale projects \u2014 60% of grid-scale storage installed in Q3 happened in California.<\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019ve seen a significant increase in storage adoption, driven by evolving policies, lower lithium prices and consumer demand for energy resilience,\u201d said Emily Walker, senior research analyst at EnergySage. \u201cThe high attachment rates across the country signal that more homeowners are prioritizing energy independence alongside solar as they become more economical.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/a>California is also leading the country in residential storage installs, due to its updated net-metering compensation rates that require batteries to maximize economics. Solar and storage quoting platform EnergySage found<\/a> the percentage of homeowners nationwide purchasing a battery with solar panels rose to 34% in the first half of 2024 \u2014 but California specifically had a 70% attachment rate.<\/p>\n