US residential energy storage surges

More residential storage was deployed in the US in the second quarter of this year than any other quarter on record, according to new research from Wood Mackenzie Power & Renewables and the US Energy Storage Association (ESA).

According to the new US Energy Storage Monitor, the country's residential storage sector added more than 30 megawatts (MW) of capacity in the quarter.

In a 20% increase from the second quarter of 2018, 75.9 MW of front-of-the-meter (FTM) and behind-the-meter (BTM) storage was deployed in the second quarter of 2019.

At 35 MW deployed in the second quarter, the residential storage market was up 41% quarter-over-quarter in MW terms, a result of rising customer interest and support incentives in more state markets. The previous MW record for residential storage was set in the second quarter of 2018 when 26 MW was deployed.

The FTM storage market had a relatively quiet second quarter, with 18 MW deployed after two consecutive quarters when the FTM market topped 80 MW.

The FTM pipeline, however, grew by 66% in the second quarter, driven by continued large-scale utility procurements and developer interest in ISO markets shown by surging interconnection requests.

“The long-term growth trends of energy storage deployment nationwide are encouraging and consequential for stakeholders, and for all electricity users who want and deserve a more resilient, efficient, sustainable and affordable electricity grid,” said Kelly Speakes-Backman, CEO of ESA.

“Federal lawmakers should take note that they can help to build upon this growth, and indeed result in a 16% upside for the US storage market, by providing a long-term policy direction for every region of the country by making energy storage an explicit, standalone criteria in the federal Investment Tax Credit (ITC).”

As written, Federal ITC qualifications include energy storage solely when coupled with solar power.

“The nascent energy storage market in the US continues to grow in fits and starts,” said Dan Finn-Foley, head of energy storage for Wood Mackenzie Power & Renewables.

“But signposts such as the record residential storage quarter, massive FTM pipeline growth, and innovative policies such as the Massachusetts clean peak standard point towards an industry that is maturing and should stabilise at scale over the next two years.”

The second quarter of 2019 saw 165 MW-hours of storage brought online, with BTM storage (including non-residential) contributing 83% of that.

California led the residential and non-residential markets in MW-hour terms, with Hawaii in second place on the residential side and Massachusetts coming in second for non-residential BTM storage.

Texas and Maine were the quarter’s top states for FTM storage at 10 MW-hours each.

FTM project delays and a weaker-than-expected first half of the year in some BTM markets caused the US energy storage outlook for 2019 to fall to 478 MW, which represents an increase of 54% over the 311 MW deployed in 2018.

The storage market is expected to will grow by roughly 10-fold between 2019 and 2024, bolstered by supportive policy structures and new opportunities for storage to provide wholesale market services.