The Battery Boom Is Reshaping Power Markets
- Global battery storage deployment is accelerating, led by China and the United States, as costs continue to fall.
- Adoption remains uneven due to regulatory, safety, and economic concerns in several regions.
- Without faster storage expansion, many countries risk limiting the reliability of renewable-heavy power grids.
The uptake of utility-scale battery storage has grown significantly in recent years as more countries switch to renewables. Battery storage ensures that grids powered by less reliable energy sources, such as wind and solar power, can continue to deliver a stable supply of clean energy through the day and night.
The battery storage boom of recent years has been driven largely by the falling costs of lithium-ion batteries, which have made it possible for utilities worldwide to invest in more batteries. The cost of batteries has fallen by around 90 percent in the last 15 years, as commercial production has expanded. China is currently the world’s biggest battery producer, but several other regions are developing their manufacturing capacity, such as Europe, India, and the United States.
Energy storage additions worldwide are expected to break another record this year, driven by China and the U.S. Global annual energy storage deployment (excluding pumped hydropower plants) is expected to reach 92 GW in 2025, which is 23 percent higher than in 2024. China will contribute more than 50 percent of this capacity increase, while the U.S. will account for around 14 percent. The U.S. contribution of energy storage is impressive, given the difficult year faced by the wind and solar energy industries under the Trump administration. BloombergNEF expects cumulative energy storage capacity in 2035 to reach 2 terawatts, at eight times higher than the level in 2025.
In the United States, battery expansion has been met with mixed success. It is still difficult to convince utilities in certain areas of the country to invest in battery storage. Meanwhile, policymakers are often lukewarm about the technology due to safety concerns. Some local governments have even banned big batteries over safety fears. For example, compared to the speed of renewable energy expansion, the pace at which batteries are being rolled out in the Southeast remains slow.
However, in California, which previously asked residents to reduce their power usage during times of peak demand, battery storage capacity has risen by roughly 30 times since 2018, contributing to greater grid stability. California, Texas, and Arizona alone account for around 80 percent of all U.S. battery storage capacity. Now, across the U.S., storage capacity outnumbers gas power in the queues for future grid additions by a factor of 6.5, according to data compiled by Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory.
Several U.S. energy companies that have invested in battery power have been developing their capacity for several years, betting on the future demand in various regions. The storage developer Eolian “began developing projects around major metro areas in the western U.S. starting in 2016 and putting the queue positions in that then became operational in 2025,” the firm’s CEO, Aaron Zubaty, said. This includes the 200-MW coastal battery site at a substation in Portland, Oregon. Moves like this have helped the United States to achieve its 35 GW of battery storage by 2025 goal, despite widespread scepticism.
In addition to the United States, battery storage capacity is expanding in various other markets, as governments better understand the benefits of boosting renewable energy reliability. In Mexico, experts believe the country’s battery storage capacity could expand significantly in the coming years.
Enrique Garduño, the CEO of the energy equipment company Skysense, said that Mexico will likely experience “the storage boom in 2027, 2028, and 2029,” driven by regulatory updates, rapid renewable energy growth, and the maturation of storage technologies. Skysense currently runs almost 200 MWh of storage capacity and expects to roll out an additional 300 MWh by 2026. Garduño explained that “It’s a very open government that is genuinely listening to the private sector.” In addition, “We are buying, installing and selling storage systems at less than half the price of three or four years ago.”
Skysense has partnered with China’s BYD Energy Storage to expand its capacity, and BYD’s “MC Cube-T BESS” platform will power the technology. The firm’s North America Vice President of Sales, Oscar Su, stated, “Expanding into a high-potential region such as Latin America is a key step for us… We bring nearly 30 years of battery R&D and the world’s largest power battery production capacity.”
Meanwhile, there are high hopes for India’s battery storage sector, but more needs to be done to attract investment. The South Asian country has seen record-low bids to develop its battery storage systems, with a lack of economic viability as well as safety risks potentially deterring investors. India is aiming to double its renewable energy capacity to 500 GW by 2030, but without a rapid growth in its battery storage capacity, it will be unable to provide a reliable power supply without continuing to rely heavily on fossil fuels.
There has been a battery storage boom in certain parts of the world, as governments and energy companies invest in expanding capacity to support a green transition. However, some parts of the world are lagging, which could cause the shift away from fossil fuels to renewable alternatives to be slower than anticipated unless greater investment is made in the sector.
By Felicity Bradstock for Oilprice.com
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