Key facts
- U.S. energy storage capacity installations reached a record 20.2 GWh in Q2.
- The utility-scale sector accounted for 18 GWh of the Q2 installations.
- Arizona led state deployments with over 6.2 GWh of utility-scale projects.
- Residential installations were 657 MWh, and C&I sector installations were 1.8 GWh.
- Industry forecasts predict annual installations to exceed 110 GWh by 2030.
The United States achieved a record high in energy storage capacity installations during the second quarter, driven by utilities and grid operators seeking to enhance grid reliability and meet escalating power demands. A total of 20.2 gigawatt-hours (GWh) were installed, marking the largest quarter on record and bringing the first half of 2026 total to 30.8 GWh, according to the U.S. Energy Storage Market Outlook Q3 2026 report by SEIA and Benchmark Mineral Intelligence.
The utility-scale sector was the primary driver of this growth, with 18 GWh installed, significantly boosted by seven gigawatt-scale projects. Arizona alone saw over 6.2 GWh of utility-scale projects deployed, setting a new historical record for quarterly deployment by any state.
Beyond utility-scale projects, the residential sector added 657 megawatt-hours (MWh), while the commercial and industrial (C&I) sector installed 1.8 GWh, partly due to demand from data centers. The strong performance has led SEIA and Benchmark Mineral Intelligence to increase their installation forecasts by 11.5% through 2030, now projecting annual installations to surpass 110 GWh and cumulative capacity to reach 683 GWh by the decade's end.
Shan Tomouk, BESS & Energy Lead at Benchmark Minerals, noted the expanding geographical reach of energy storage deployment, stating, "Energy storage is no longer just a California and Texas story anymore. We’re seeing strong pipeline growth in Arizona, Nevada, Oregon, Colorado and several other states."
Further underscoring the trend, battery energy storage supplied more electricity to the grid in the first eight months of 2026 than in the entirety of 2025. The U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) reported last month that utility-scale battery storage capacity in the United States has surged over the past three years, with an average annual growth rate of 70%.