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U.S. battery energy storage capacity nearly doubles in the first 18 months of the Trump administration as grid operators turn to storage to strengthen grid reliability
WASHINGTON, D.C. — The U.S. energy storage industry installed a record 20.2 gigawatt-hours (GWh) of new capacity in Q2, bringing total installations in the first half of 2026 to 30.8 GWh, according to the U.S. Energy Storage Market Outlook Q3 2026 (ESMO) released today by the Solar Energy Industries Association (SEIA) and Benchmark Mineral Intelligence.
Utility-scale energy storage capacity has nearly doubled from 88 GWh to 165 GWh in the first 18 months of the Trump administration, as grid operators, utilities and energy buyers turn to storage to strengthen reliability and meet rising electricity demand.
Demand for energy storage is outpacing expectations, prompting a 11.5% increase in the report’s forecast through 2030 to 683 GWh. The upward revision comes as the industry continues to set deployment records, with more than 10% of all energy storage capacity currently installed in the U.S. coming online in Q2 alone.
