Market Landscape in 2018

When the U.S. Energy Storage Monitor 2018 report landed on industry desks, it revealed a sector experiencing exponential growth – think of it as the "puberty phase" of energy storage development. Battery installations surged 57% year-over-year, with front-of-meter projects driving 85% of total deployments. California and Hawaii emerged as early adopters, their renewable integration challenges making them perfect test beds for storage solutions.

Key Drivers of Storage Adoption

• Utility-scale solar pairing (like peanut butter and jelly for renewable integration)
• FERC Order 841 removing market barriers for storage participation
• Lithium-ion costs dropping 18% annually – remember when a 1MW system cost $1.2M? Those were the days!

Technology Battleground

While lithium-ion dominated 85% of new installations, 2018 saw interesting developments:

Technology	Market Share	Notable Project
Lithium-ion	85%	Tesla's 182.5MW Moss Landing Phase 1
Flow Batteries	8%	ESS Inc's 3MW/12MWh installation in Oregon
Thermal Storage	5%	Ice Energy's 1,800 ice-making AC units in SoCal

The Policy Tightrope

2018's storage boom wasn't without challenges. Remember the "Solarcoaster"? Storage faced its own version with:

• ITC eligibility debates – is storage a generator or ancillary service?
• Interconnection queue bottlenecks causing 9-18 month delays
• Fire safety concerns after Arizona battery incidents

Corporate Procurement Surge

Commercial & industrial deployments grew 45% year-over-year, driven by:

• Walmart's 30MWh behind-the-meter installations
• Microsoft's 2MW data center backup systems
• Starbucks' 500+ stores adding peak shaving batteries

The report highlighted an emerging trend we now recognize as standard practice – storage-plus solutions combining solar, batteries, and smart controls. Early adopters saw 22% greater ROI compared to standalone solar installations.

Regional Hotspots & Cold Zones

While California led with 48% of national deployments, surprising markets emerged:

1. Texas: 127% growth in ancillary service projects
2. Massachusetts: SMART program driving 83 residential projects
3. Florida: Hurricane preparedness creating 25MW emergency storage

Future Projections vs. Reality

The 2018 report's 5-year forecast predicted 4.3GW deployments by 2023 – turns out they underestimated by 18%! Current market data shows actual installations reached 5.1GW, proving even optimistic projections couldn't keep pace with this sector's growth trajectory.

Download U.S. Energy Storage Monitor 2018: A Retrospective Analysis of Market Dynamics [PDF]

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