Huge batteries are growing at a rapid rate in America and playing a pivotal role in keeping the lights on.
The Guardian put the growth into perspective by pointing out that batteries now store power equivalent to the output of 20 nuclear reactors. That 21.4 gigawatt capacity is from a starting point of almost nothing going back only to 2020, per stats provided by the Energy Information Administration.
Nearly a quarter (five gigawatts) of that power output was added in the first seven months of 2024. The EIA predicts that by the end of 2024, the overall capacity could reach 30 gigawatts.
Batteries are powered by clean energy sources like wind and solar power. These fast-growing industries face an understandable dilemma — the sun isn't always shining, and the wind isn't always blowing.
The tech allows governments, businesses, and even homeowners to store the excess energy and deploy it when it's needed most.
In Texas, batteries set records for battery deployment amid skyrocketing demand spurred by hot conditions. Similarly in California, batteries helped prevent outages as the grid faced challenges like droughts and wildfires.
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The success of batteries is great news in the move away from dirty energy that warms the planet. Companies in California, France, and Australia are using them to power projects, and Alaska's power companies are tapping into them as a way to increase their grid resilience.
For consumers looking to dip into batteries as a way to maximize their own solar panels, for instance, offerings like Tesla's Powerwall 3 provide an exciting option.
Perhaps the most exciting thing about batteries' explosive growth is that it's still early days for figuring out how best to use them.
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"It's still technology that we are getting used to working with because the system wasn't designed for it," John Moura, a director at the North American Electric Reliability Corporation, told the Guardian.
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A challenge the country will face is finding ways to get energy from batteries nationwide where it's needed with the limitations of current U.S. transmission lines. Additionally, sun and wind droughts can persist longer than batteries' storage capacity presently.
Still, the impressive growth is an exciting development.
Moura said the emergence of batteries "changes the whole paradigm" of the electrical grid and called it a "golden opportunity."
"Storage gives us a bit of a time machine to deliver it when we need it," he concluded.
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