Texas is among leading US states for storage deployment
AUGUST 30, 2022 — One of the US states currently deploying the largest amounts of grid-scale energy storage is Texas.
Indeed, one energy sector CEO recently remarked that the state had “one of the fastest growing markets in the world for energy storage”.
Figures published in a report by American Clean Power and Wood Mackenzie showed that, in the first quarter of this year, 747MW / 2.4 GWh of grid scale energy storage was installed in the US, the highest Q1 volume on record. And the report added that Texas was one of three states (along with California and Nevada) where most deployments were taking place.
So what’s driving the surge in storage deployment in the ‘Lone Star State’?
‘Wreaking Havoc’
As the old proverb states, ‘necessity is the mother invention’, and this explains why Texas is among the leading US states when it comes to energy storage deployment.
Simply put, the ‘Lone Star State’ needs to do all it can to store its reserves of renewable energy because its energy supply is not guaranteed.
In extreme weather – either hot or cold – the state is vulnerable to power blackouts. Last month, the Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT), which operates the state’s electrical grid, warned that rolling blackouts were a possibility due to surging energy demand as temperatures soared to 100 degrees.
Last year, it was extremely cold weather that was wreaking havoc in Texas when record low temperatures in February 2021 led to the state’s power grid failing, with the result that millions of people were left without access to electricity.
Storage ‘Gold Rush’
Unsurprisingly, with the state anxious to develop the capacity to provide a reliable supply of electricity, the Texas energy sector has become a hive of activity with opportunities in abundance.
Last month, Cypress Creek Renewables added 400MW/600MWh to its storage portfolio after acquiring four Texas standalone energy storage projects from Black Mountain Energy Storage.
Provided by: Energy Storage Report