Grid-Scale Battery Storage Is Quietly Revolutionizing the Energy System

Between 2021 and 2024 , US grid battery capacity will increase fivefold.

Battery storage capacity now exceeds pumped hydro capacity, totaling more than 26 gigawatts.

The aging US grid is also in dire need of upgrades, and batteries can cushion the shock of adding wind and solar while buying time to perform more extensive renovations.

Overall grid battery capacity in the US barely budged for more than a decade .

China now produces 80 percent of the world’s lithium-ion batteries.

China went big on battery manufacturing and, much as it did in solar panels, created economies of scale to drive global prices down.

Grid batteries have benefited from manufacturing improvements that went into those products.

Between 2020 and 2024 , Texas saw a 4,100 percent increase in utility-scale batteries, topping 5.7 gigawatts.

Grid batteries have a halo effect for thermal power plants, reducing greenhouse gas emissions and keeping costs in check.

They also allow the grid to adapt faster to changing energy needs, like when a factory shuts down or when a data center powers up.