Demand Management, Distributed Energy Resources, Energy Storage, Industrial, Utilities  -  March 8, 2016

US energy storage market 'really took off' in 2015, grew 243%

Energy storage is beginning to make serious inroads, particularly at the utility-scale level, and new forecasts suggest the technology is starting to live up to the hype it has received in recent years.

A new report, "U.S. Energy Storage Monitor 2015 Year in Review," prepared by GTM Research and the Energy Storage Association finds the U.S. deployed 221 MW of storage in 2015, which represents 161 MWh.

The 112 MW deployed in the fourth quarter of 2015 alone represented more than the total of all storage deployments in 2013 and 2014 combined, GTM research said in report. The U.S. energy storage market grew 243% over 2014’s 65 MW , or 86 MWh. 

"We can look back at 2015 as the year when energy storage really took off," GTM quoted Ravi Manghani, GTM Research senior energy storage analyst and author of the report, as saying. "While most of the growth was limited to a single wholesale market of PJM, we expect growing interest for storage in several markets." 

The utility segment, referred to in the report as “front-of-meter,” accounted for the bulk of the U.S. energy storage market. In 2015, front-of-meter storage accounted for 85% of all deployments. Most of these deployments were in the PJM Interconnection LLC market, where more than 160 MW of energy storage systems went online in 2015, according to the release.

"Energy storage is changing the paradigm on how we generate, distribute and use energy. With exponential growth predicted over the next couple of years, energy storage solutions will deliver smarter, more dynamic energy services, address peak demand challenges and enable the expanded use of renewable generation like wind and solar,” Matt Roberts, executive director of the Energy Storage Association reportedly said, adding, “The net result will be a more resilient and flexible grid infrastructure that benefits American businesses and consumers.”

Image source: GTM Research/ESA U.S. Energy Storage Monitor

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