U.S. Battery Capacity on the Rise

­In what’ll probably come as no surprise to those tuned in to the market, the U.S. battery capacity saw a huge uptick in 2024. But why, and could recent political developments bump up those numbers even further?

According to the U.S. Energy Information Administration, cumulative utility-scale battery storage capacity exceeded 26 gigawatts (GW) in 2024, with 10.4 GW of new battery storage capacity added last year, for a massive increase of 66%.

And though that accounted for a mere 2% of the 1,230 GW of utility-scale electricity generating capacity in the U.S., battery storage is obviously on the upswing, with the EIA forecasting 19.6 GW added to the grid, and the various government incentives and investments and the rapid adoption of EVs and all manner of green energy initiatives expediting higher grid capacities.

So it’s no surprise that batteries are headed for the stratosphere, with the U.S. market worth an estimated 16.9 billion in 2023 and poised for a compound annual growth rate of 13.8% from 2024 to 2030.

And apart from the obvious EV surge, batteries are experiencing their new renaissance due in no small part to the rise in wind and solar power. While they each represent a comparatively small part of total U.S. utility-scale electricity generation – just above 10% for wind and just below 4% for solar – they’re both on the rise, and batteries are absolutely critical for their successful operation.

We all know wind power’s Achilles' heel. And while solar power does operate in some fashion during inclement weather, it produces 10-25% of its normal power output. Thus, the overwhelming importance of reliable energy storage – some call the resultant phenomenon “time-shifting power”, or storing surplus energy when it’s abundantly available and releasing it later when the demand is highest.

There’s just one problem – recent political events have made batteries and just about everything associated with photovoltaics harder to come by.

In case you didn’t know, we get the lion’s share of our lithium-ion batteries – and the raw minerals for them – from China. And in case you haven’t kept up with current events, President Trump just initiated a slew of new tariffs (including a 10% increase on existing China tariffs).

I don’t have to tell you that this could dire consequences for renewable energy in America – during Trump’s first term, his China tariffs took a sledgehammer to U.S. solar panel installation (which relies on cheap China parts for up to 80% of its supply.

So it’s not unreasonable to expect more of the same, and for better or worse, the new tariffs could buoy the U.S. battery market, if only to fill the void.