Energy Storage

Battery Storage Capacity Charging Ahead in Lone Star State

Aug. 12, 2024

As of Sunday, grid operator Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT) reported more than 8 GW of total installed energy storage resource capacity within the grid. A new projection by battery storage analysis platform Modo Energy forecasts that the BESS buildout within ERCOT could double to more than 18 GW by the end of 2025.

Rod Walton, Managing Editor

Texas energy storage project under construction. Image credit Intersect Power

The Texas grid, already hosting nation-leading utility-scale wind power and a rising amount of solar capacity, also is accelerating its adoption of battery energy storage systems (BESS) that can be key components of microgrids, according to reports.

As of Sunday, grid operator Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT) reported more than 8 GW of total installed energy storage resource capacity within the grid.

A new projection by battery storage analysis platform Modo Energy forecasts that the BESS buildout within ERCOT could double to more than 18 GW by the end of 2025. The growth of newly installed battery storage capacity connected to the Texas grid has nearly tripled just in the past year, according to Modo Energy.

Close to 7.5 GW of new battery storage capacity is planned to be under construction just this year, according to an earlier report by the Texas Tribune. Some of it is utility-scale battery storage paired with solar for providing grid services, but some parts of it are part of planned microgrid projects within the state.

Last year, Texas voters approved the $10 billion Texas Energy Fund to support investment in bolstering the state’s electricity in the wake of several energy crises, including Winter Storm Uri in February 2021 and summer peak loads threatening reserve capacity on the ERCOT system. Some $1.8 billion of that $10B Texas Energy Fund allocations is marked for lower carbon distributed energy such as microgrids, solar and batteries.

Electric vehicle manufacturer and battery technology firm Tesla also moved its headquarters to Austin and built a new Gigafactory near there. Many industry leaders expect battery storage capacity to accelerate even further if lithium prices continue to fall.

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Battery storage and solar capacity are seen as ideal tools for on-site power and microgrids, since energy storage can balance and smooth the intermittencies of renewable energy. Earlier this summer, the U.S. Department of Energy announced $450 million in funding for projects to support power resiliency by combining residential solar and batteries in Puerto Rico.

Throughout the U.S., battery storage capacity has expanded 180% since the end of 2021, according to a report earlier this year by S&P Global. The California Independent System Operator was the regional transmission grid with the biggest addition of battery storage capacity, at 1.08 GW, with ERCOT second at 1.05 GW, according to the report.

Energy storage is a key component of many microgrids and is a key subject matter which will be in focus at the Microgrid Knowledge Conference 2025 which will be April 15-17 at the Sheraton Dallas. The Microgrid Knowledge Conference Call for Speakers is now open and seeking content around battery storage’s role in the microgrid ecosystem.

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About the Author

Rod Walton, Managing Editor | Managing Editor

For Microgrid Knowledge editorial inquiries, please contact Managing Editor Rod Walton at [email protected].

I’ve spent the last 15 years covering the energy industry as a newspaper and trade journalist. I was an energy writer and business editor at the Tulsa World before moving to business-to-business media at PennWell Publishing, which later became Clarion Events, where I covered the electric power industry. I joined Endeavor Business Media in November 2021 to help launch EnergyTech, one of the company’s newest media brands. I joined Microgrid Knowledge in July 2023.

I earned my Bachelors degree in journalism from the University of Oklahoma. My career stops include the Moore American, Bartlesville Examiner-Enterprise, Wagoner Tribune and Tulsa World, all in Oklahoma . I have been married to Laura for the past 33-plus years and we have four children and one adorable granddaughter. We want the energy transition to make their lives better in the future.

Microgrid Knowledge and EnergyTech are focused on the mission critical and large-scale energy users and their sustainability and resiliency goals. These include the commercial and industrial sectors, as well as the military, universities, data centers and microgrids. The C&I sectors together account for close to 30 percent of greenhouse gas emissions in the U.S.

Many large-scale energy users such as Fortune 500 companies, and mission-critical users such as military bases, universities, healthcare facilities, public safety and data centers, shifting their energy priorities to reach net-zero carbon goals within the coming decades. These include plans for renewable energy power purchase agreements, but also on-site resiliency projects such as microgrids, combined heat and power, rooftop solar, energy storage, digitalization and building efficiency upgrades.