A booming solar+storage sector is catching the attention of a major U.S. investment news service, with 85 projects totalling 8,921 megawatts of storage and 4,175 MW of storage either under construction or set to begin.
The new activity represents a major increase over the 40 systems (1,242 MW of solar connected to 53 MW of storage) already in operation across the country, S&P Global Market Intelligence reports, in an assessment republished by the Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis.
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While most of the systems are in Hawaii, California, Florida, and the northeastern U.S., S&P points to a single project in Nevada, where Berkshire Hathaway affiliate NV Energy announced plans to pair 1,190 MW of solar with 590 MW of storage.
The “dynamic renewable energy assets” are proving so popular, writes S&P, because solar+storage now means reliable, continuous power “past sunset, and into the hours of peak electricity demand typically served by natural gas-fired and hydroelectric generation.” The analyst team adds that recent projects in the western U.S. are delivering “all-in prices between $30/MWh and $40/MWh, depending on battery size”.
