Findings from the U.S. Energy Information Administration’s (EIA) 2023 Annual Electric Generator Report indicate that batteries are a fast-growing secondary electricity source for the grid; in July 2024, more than 20.7 GW of battery energy storage capacity was available in the U.S.
In the first seven months of 2024, 5 GW of capacity has been added to the grid, according to the EIA’s July 2024 electric generator inventory. That’s a sizable increase from 2010, when only 4 MW of utility-scale battery storage was added to the grid.
Battery energy storage systems (BESS) not only provide power to the grid, they also offer a range of grid support services, such as balancing supply and demand, moving electricity from periods of low prices to high prices, and allow power from other sources, like wind and solar, to be stored until needed.
BESS are not primary power sources, meaning the technology does not create electricity from a fuel or natural source. They instead store electricity that has already been created from a generator or the grid, making them secondary sources of power.
According to the EIA, it includes these secondary sources of electricity in its Annual Electric Generator Report and in its preliminary monthly electric generator inventory data because they provide the capacity to meet load demands even though they do not generate electricity directly.
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