In the second quarter of 2026, the US installed a record volume of battery systems — 20,2 gigawatt-hours of new capacity.
That is enough to meet the daily electricity needs of roughly 700 thousand homes.
The country is heading toward a new annual record: by year's end, 71 gigawatt-hours are projected to be installed, which is 20% more than last year.
The growth is explained by falling battery prices and rising demand for energy storage as renewable sources — solar and wind generation — are added to the grid.
Large grid-scale projects made the main contribution to the record: during the quarter, seven gigascale installations with more than one gigawatt-hour each came online.
In the behind-the-meter segment — systems owned by homeowners or businesses — data centers lead, accounting for about three-quarters of new commercial batteries.
Residential installations, by contrast, declined noticeably: a drop of 16% is expected by the end of the year.
The main reason is the expiration in 2025 of the tax credit that subsidized home storage systems.
"This is one of the strong sectors in the US," notes BloombergNEF analyst Issyu Kikuma.
At the same time, the industry is gradually reorienting toward American manufacturing: almost all current systems use cells from China, but tariffs and tax credit requirements are encouraging localization.
It will not be possible to fully meet demand with domestic factories before 2030, warns Benchmark Mineral Intelligence expert Shan Tomuk.
How will this affect the cost of energy storage in the coming years?
