Deployment of energy storage rose slightly in the US with lithium-ion projects by utilities continuing to dominate the market.
The US deployed 41.2 MW of energy storage in Q2 2016 (up 1% year-on-year), with behind-the-meter deployments increasing 3% from Q1, according to GTM Research and the Energy Storage Association (ESA).
Once again lithium-ion dominates the system chemistry with a 99% market share, the equivalent of 40.9MW deployed.
‘Other’ battery technologies, such as flywheel, took second place in the race for a market share with 0.3MW deployed.
Year-on-year the biggest growing sector is still utility–scale projects, which showed a rise of 66%, attributable to improved economics for storage and growth in new markets in 2016.
That said, both residential and non-residential segments saw quarter-over-quarter growth, albeit with only a modest increase from Q1 2016.
However, the more eye-catching trend was California slipping down the ESS deployment rankings in both residential and utility markets as vendors explore new markets across the US.
‘All others’ (not California or PJM) took the top spot in residential deployment while PJM was ranked number one in the utility sector.
But it’s not all bad news for California because the state still accounts for a 83% market share in the non-residential sector.
