Grid connected energy storage installations of an estimated value of 55 GW between now and 2025 in the US will be driven by several factors, including a growing pipeline of utility-scale solar and storage installations, according to IHS Markit. (Source: IHS Markit/LinkedIn)

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IHS Markit expects 55 GW of new global grid-connected energy storage installations to be installed between 2019 and 2025. Among the major factors for this growth is an increasing pipeline of large-scale solar plus storage projects in the United States driven by the Investment Tax Credit (ITC) which would mean 4.6 GW of battery energy storage to be co-located with solar.

The Q2/2019 US solar installations report by Wood Mackenzie Power & Renewables and the Solar Energy Industries Association (SEIA) showed a contracted US utility scale solar pipeline of 37.9 GW (see US Added 2.1 GW New Solar PV Capacity In Q2/2019).

Sam Wilkinson, Senior Research Manager for Solar & Energy Storage at IHS Markit, sees the acceleration of the Chinese market as another reason for this growth of energy storage over the next six years as grid companies seek to enhance infrastructure to address widening power peaks.

A drop of over 70% in Li-on battery module prices since 2012 also makes battery storage an attractive proposition to support power supply.

According to the market intelligence firm, annual grid-connected energy storage market is likely to grow from an expected 1 GW in 2019 to 11.7 GW in 2025.

An expert panel set up to investigate fires at 23 energy storage installations in South Korea in 2018 concluded in June 2019 that poor quality installations and faulty operation were responsible. This dampened investor and market sentiment into energy storage technology briefly, but Wilkinson in his LinkedIn post writes that deployment is set to resume albeit at a lower level due to a lack of financial drivers.

Nonetheless, stationary energy storage is crucial in transforming energy systems, providing system flexibility, ensuring resource adequacy and solving infrastructure constraints, hence according to IHS Markit, the energy storage segment is poised for growth in the near future.