Texas leads the way as nation adds record amount of battery storage
Texas is leading the nation in battery energy storage installations, driven by reliability interests and growing demand from data centers. San Antonio's CPS Energy, a city-owned utility, is actively expanding its storage portfolio and has begun construction on a 120-megawatt energy storage system in partnership with OCI Energy.
Texas has achieved record-breaking battery energy storage installations, accounting for 27% of nationwide growth, according to a report by the Solar Energy Industries Association. This surge in storage capacity, capable of generating 2.7 gigawatts over an hour, is partly in response to the need for grid reliability, especially following Winter Storm Uri, and a significant increase in demand driven by artificial intelligence and data centers.
Joan White, senior director of storage and interconnection policy for the association, highlighted Texas's leadership, noting the rapid deployment of utility-scale storage and solar as crucial for meeting the state's massive energy demand. She also pointed out the price pressure on energy storage due to the rising demand from AI and data centers.
San Antonio's city-owned utility, CPS Energy, anticipates its peak demand could quadruple as data centers continue to expand in the state. To address this, CPS Energy is expanding its storage portfolio and recently began constructing a 120-megawatt energy storage system on the Southeast Side in partnership with San Antonio-based OCI Energy. Texas and California now both have 17 gigawatts of energy storage, enough to power over 4 million homes on a summer day.