In the third quarter of 2021, almost as much energy storage was deployed in the US as was recorded for the whole of 2020, when the industry surpassed a gigawatt of installations for the first time ever.
Tesla deployed 1,295MWh of energy storage in the third quarter of 2021 and has recorded a 96% compound annual growth rate (CAGR) in deployments over a four-year period.
The US’ installed battery storage capacity reached 1,650MW by the end of 2020, but the country is on track to have nearly 10 times that amount by 2024, according to the national Energy Information Administration (EIA).
Tesla has reported more than 200% year-on-year increases in both solar and energy storage deployments for the second quarter of this year, during which time the company also produced and delivered more than 200,000 vehicles.
Nearly 12,000MWh of energy storage could be installed in the US during 2021 and the market will continue growing significantly over the next few years, according to research and analysis group Wood Mackenzie Power & Renewables.
The US’ installations of advanced energy storage — almost entirely lithium-ion battery systems — went beyond the 1GW mark in 2020, while in capacity terms the figure was close to 3.5GWh.
Despite the fall in unit prices for energy storage, a total of US$3.6 billion of investment was committed to energy storage projects in 2020, around the same amount as in 2019.
The US energy storage industry collectively deployed 476MW / 764MWh in a single three-month period between July to September, with analysis firm Wood Mackenzie Power & Renewables describing the record-breaking performance as a “sign of things to come”.
China deployed 533.3MW of new electrochemical energy storage projects in the first three quarters of 2020, an increase of 157% on the same period in 2019.
The US industry deployed 168MW / 288MWh of energy storage in the second quarter of this year, the second highest quarterly figures on record, according to Wood Mackenzie Power & Renewables.
