US BATTERY STORAGE: Capacity surpasses 14.6 GW in Q3, 3.5 GW planned in Q4

Total US battery storage capacity jumped 53.3% year on year to 14.689 GW by the end of the third quarter of 2023 although only about half of the expected new facilities actually came online, while Q4 is expected to see roughly 4.5 GW added.

There was 1.909 GW of capacity added during Q3, an increase of 16% from Q2, according to an S&P Global Commodity Insights compilation of various government filings. The data includes facilities that either began commercial operation or were synchronized to the grid.

The California Independent System Operator leads the nation in battery storage capacity at 6.966 GW or 47.4% of total US capacity, according to the data.

Lithium prices fall

Prices for lithium, a key metal used in battery components, continued to decline in Q3, remaining below record highs reached in 2022.

Platts, part of S&P Global Commodity Insights, assessed seaborne lithium prices on a CIF North Asia basis at $22,300/mt for carbonate and $22,500/mt for hydroxide Nov. 14. Lithium carbonate and hydroxide prices dropped 70% and 72%, respectively, since the start of 2023, according to S&P Global data.

Prices for both lithium carbonate and hydroxide are at the lowest levels since October 2021.

Q3 battery additions

After a muted Q2, the Electric Reliability Council added the most capacity in Q3 with 763.4 MW, or 40% of total US additions, followed by CAISO with 763.4 MW, or 40% of total US installations. The Western Electricity Coordinating Council added 531 MW, accounting for 27.8% of Q3 additions.

Not surprisingly, the largest projects completed in Q3 were located in the West or ERCOT:

• NextEra Energy Resources' 325-MW Desert Peak Energy Storage in California
• Plus Power's 300.6-MW Rodeo Ranch Energy Storage in Texas
• NextEra Energy Resources' 260-MW Sonoran Solar Energy in Arizona
• Spearmint Renewable Development Company's 150-MW Crane 2 BESS in Texas
• NextEra Energy Resources' 132-MW North Central Valley Energy Storage in California

Sonoran Solar Energy was previously expected to be the largest project added in Q1, but was delayed to Q2 and delayed again to Q3.

Desert Peak Energy Storage is now the third largest battery storage facility in operation across the US. The largest is Florida Power and Light's 409-MW Manatee Energy Storage Center, which started operations in Q4 2021. The second largest is Vistra Energy's 350-MW Moss Landing Energy Storage 3 in California, which started operations in Q3 2024.

Company rankings

NextEra Energy Resources continues to have the most operating battery storage capacity in the US with 2.814 GW after adding 980 MW in Q3, according to the data. Despite not adding any facilities in Q3, Vistra Energy remained in second place with 1.023 GW of capacity. Axium Infrastructure ranked third with 733 MW, unchanged.

Rounding out the top five companies by capacity are Terra-Gen Power with 680 MW, after adding a nearly 19 MW facility in California in Q3, and LS Power Development Affiliates with 615 MW, which did not add any capacity in Q3.

"The amount of battery storage capacity under development has soared over the past two years," the American Clean Power Association said in its Q3 report. "At the end of Q3, the battery storage pipeline has expanded by 50% year-over-year, and has grown by an average of 10% each quarter."

The battery storage project pipeline consists of 262 projects under construction or in advanced development, for a total capacity of 21,445 MW/62,109 MWh, according to ACP.

Q4 expectations

If all 4.458 GW of proposed Q4 additions are completed and connected to the grid, it would bring the US total to over 19 GW, according to the data compiled.

Additions in Q4 are expected to be focused on the West and ERCOT. Developers in CAISO are expected to add nearly 1.9 GW or 42.2% of all US planned additions, while WECC is projected to add 1.2 MW or 27.9% of Q4 additions, followed by ERCOT with over 1 GW or 24.5% of Q4 additions.

The top five largest projects proposed to be completed in Q4 are:

• Primergy Solar's 380-MW Solar Partners XI in Nevada
• CIM Group's 228-MW Westlands Solar Blue in California
• ENGIE North America's 221-MW Fire Wells Storage in Texas
• Nevada Power Company's 220-MW Reid Gardner in Nevada
• Broad Reach Power's 201-MW BRP Hydra BESS in Texas

Westlands Solar Blue was previously slated for Q3 but was pushed back to Q4. Likewise, Terra-Gen Power's 169-MW Sanborn BESS 3 in California, originally slated for Q3, has been pushed back to Q4.

In Q4, NextEra Energy Resource's 75-MW Dunns Bridge Energy Storage is expected to be the only facility added to the Midcontinent Independent System Operator footprint.

Besides the planned CAISO, WECC, and ERCOT additions, 84 MW are slated for the PJM Interconnection, 75 MW are expected in MISO, 70 MW are proposed in the US Southeast states, 10 MW are planned in ISO New England, and 5.7 MW are expected in New York ISO.

Looking further out, WECC is projected to climb 13.6 GW of battery storage capacity by the end of 2024 and 18.8 GW in 2025, according to data from S&P Global Commodity Insights. ERCOT follows and is expected to reach nearly 11 GW in 2024 and almost 13 GW the following year. CAISO is forecast to reach 9.7 GW in 2024 and 12.7 GW in 2025.

Other regions expected to surpass 1 GW in 2024 include New York ISO with 1.3 GW and PJM with 1.024 GW, according to data from S&P Global Commodity Insights. In 2026, ISO New England, MISO, and the US Southeast are reach forecast to reach 1 GW of capacity, while the Southwest Power Pool is not expected to reach that level until 2027.