Energy

U.S. Grid Energy Storage

Electrical Energy Storage (EES) refers to the process of converting electrical energy into a stored form that can later be converted back into
electrical energy when needed.1 Batteries are one of the most common forms of electrical energy storage, ubiquitous in most peoples' lives. The
first battery—called Volta’s cell—was developed in 1800. The first U.S. large-scale energy storage facility was the Rocky River Pumped Storage
plant in 1929, on the Housatonic River in Connecticut.2,3 Research in energy storage has increased dramatically, especially after the first U.S. oil
crisis in the 1970s, and resulted in advancements in the cost and performance of rechargeable batteries.2,4,5 The impact energy storage can have on
the current and future sustainable energy grid is substantial.6
Number of Grid-Connected Energy Storage Projects by State10
• EES systems are characterized by rated power in megawatts (MW) and
energy storage capacity in megawatt-hours (MWh).7
• In 2020, the U.S. had over 23.2 GW of capacity in energy storage compared
to 1,100 GW of total installed generation capacity.8,9 Globally, installed
energy storage capacity totaled 173.6 GW.10
• 1,355 energy storage projects were operational globally in 2020, with 11
projects under construction. 40% of operational projects are located in the
U.S.10
• California leads the U.S. in energy storage with 215 operational projects (4.2
GW), followed by Hawaii, New York, and Texas.10

Deployed Technologies
Key EES technologies include: Pumped Hydroelectric Storage (PHS), Com- Maturity of Energy Storage Technologies11
pressed Air Energy Storage (CAES), Advanced Battery Energy Storage (ABES), Flywheel Energy
Storage (FES), Thermal Energy Storage (TES), and Hydrogen Energy Storage (HES).13 PHS and
CAES are large-scale technologies capable of discharge times of tens of hours and power capacities
up to 1 GW, but are geographically limited. ABES and FES have lower power and shorter discharge
times (from seconds to 6 hours), but are often not limited by geography.14
Pumped Hydroelectric Storage (PHS)
• PHS systems pump water from a low to high reservoir and, when electricity is needed, water is
released through a hydroelectric turbine, generating electrical energy from kinetic energy.14,15
• 96% of global energy storage is from PHS.15
• PHS plants have long lifetimes (50-60 years) and have operational efficiencies of between 70 and
85%.14,15
Compressed Air Energy Storage (CAES)
• CAES systems store compressed air in an underground cavern. To create Characteristics of Energy Storage Technologies12
electricity, the pressurized air is heated and expanded in a natural gas
combustion turbine, driving a generator.16,17
• Existing CAES plants are based on the diabatic method, where the
compression of the combustion air is separate from the gas turbine. The
diabatic method can generate 3 times the output for every natural gas input,
reduce CO2 emissions by 40-60%, and enable plant efficiencies of 42-55%.17
• As of August 2019, there were 2 CAES plants operating in the U.S. and
Germany. The U.S. facility is a 110 MW plant in Alabama.18
Advanced Battery Energy Storage (ABES)
• ABES stores electrical energy in the form of chemical energy, which is then
converted back into electricity when needed.19
• Batteries contain two electrodes (anode and cathode) composed of different
materials and an electrolyte that separates the electrodes. The electrolyte
enables the flow of ions between the two electrodes and external wires to allow
for electrical charge to flow.2,19
• The U.S. has several operational battery-related energy storage projects based
on lead-acid, lithium-ion, nickel-based, sodium-based, and flow batteries.10 These batteries account for 0.74 GW of rated power in 2020 and
have round-trip efficiencies (the ratio of net energy discharged to the grid to the net energy used to charge the battery) between 60-95%.10,20
Flywheel Energy Storage (FES)
• FES is mainly used for power management rather than longer-term energy storage. FES systems store kinetic energy by spinning a rotor in a
frictionless enclosure.17 The rotor is sped up or down to shift energy to or from the grid, which steadies the power supply.14

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• There are two categories of FES: low-speed and high-speed. U.S. Energy Storage Projects by Technology Type in 202010
(Including Announced Projects)
These systems rotate at rates up to 10,000 and 100,000 RPM
(rotations per minute), respectively, and are best used for high
power/low energy applications.17
• In 2020, flywheels accounted for 0.058 GW of rated power in
the U.S. and have efficiencies between 85-87%.10,20

Applications
• EES systems have many applications, including energy
arbitrage, generation capacity deferral, ancillary services,
ramping, transmission and distribution capacity deferral, and
end-user applications (e.g., managing energy costs, power
quality and service reliability, and renewable curtailment).22
Daily Energy Storage and Load Leveling21
• EES can operate at partial output levels with fewer losses and can respond quickly
to adjustments in electricity demand.23 Much of the current energy infrastructure is
approaching—or beyond—its intended lifetime.24 Storing energy in off-peak hours and using
that energy during peak hours saves money and prolongs the lifetime of energy infrastructure.21
• Round-trip efficiency, annual degradation, and generator heat rate have a moderate to strong
influence on the environmental performance of grid connected energy storage.25
• Energy storage will help with the adoption of renewable energy by storing excess energy for
times when intermittent renewable energy sources are unavailable.26

Solutions Five Categories of Energy Storage Applications23

Research & Development
• The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) administered $185
million of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act
(ARRA) funding to support 16 large-scale energy storage
projects with a combined power capacity of over 0.53 GW.27
• Storage technologies are becoming more efficient and
economically viable. One study found that the economic
value of energy storage in the U.S. is $228.4 billion over a 10
year period.23
• Lithium-ion batteries are one of the fastest-growing energy
storage technologies due to their high energy densities, high
power, near 100% efficiency, and low self-discharge.28,29 The U.S. has 630,000 tonnes of lithium in reserves; globally, there are 17 million tonnes
of reserves.30
• Long-term (10-100 hours) and seasonal (100+ hours) energy storage are also important areas of research. Hydrogen, compressed air, and
hydropower are the most viable technologies for these types of storage.31
Policy & Standardization
• The Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007 enabled an Energy Storage Technologies Subcommittee to form through the Electricity
Advisory Committee (EAC), whose members assess and advise the U.S. DOE every two years on progress of domestic energy storage goals.32
• In 2010, California approved Assembly Bill 2514, requiring the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) to set and meet energy
storage procurement targets for investor-owned utilities, totaling 1.33 GW of storage capacity completed by 2020 and implemented by 2024.33
Massachusetts, Oregon, Nevada, New Jersey, and New York all have similar mandates.34
• In 2018, the U.S. Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) issued Order No. 841, which requires wholesale electricity markets to
establish participation models that recognize energy storage's physical and operational characteristics. The order builds on past FERC Orders
No. 755 and No. 784.35
1. Chen, H., et al. (2009) “Progress in Electrical Energy Storage System: A Critical Review.” Progress in 18. PNNL (2019) Compressed Air Energy Storage.
Natural Science, 19:291–312. 19. Massachusetts Institute of Technology School of Engineering (2015) “Ask an Engineer: How Does a
2. Whittingham, S. (2012) History, Evolution, and Future Status of Energy Storage. Proceedings of the Battery Work?”
Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE). 20. State Utility Forecasting Group (2013) Utility Scale Energy Storage Systems.
3. National Hydropower Association (NHA) (2012) Challenges and Opportunities For New Pumped 21. Sabihuddin, S., et al. (2015) A Numerical and Graphical Review of Energy Storage Technologies.
Storage Development. 22. Sioshansi, R., et al. (2012) Market and Policy Barriers to Deployment of Energy Storage.
4. Sandia National Laboratory (SNL) (2014) “DOE OE Energy Storage Systems (ESS) - Overview.” 23. SNL (2010) Energy Storage for the Electricity Grid.
5. National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) (2018) 2018 U.S. Utility-Scale Photovoltaics-Plus- 24. U.S. DOE (2014) Large Power Transformers and the U.S. Electric Grid April 2014 Update.
Energy Storage System Costs Benchmark. 25. Arbabzadeh, M., et al. (2017) “Parameters driving environmental performance of energy storage
6. Verma, H., et al. (2013) “Energy storage: A review.” International Journal of Innovative Technology systems across grid applications.” Journal of Energy Storage 12: 11–28.
and Exploring Engineering, 3(1): 63-69. 26. National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) (2010) The Role of Energy Storage with Renewable
7. Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL) & U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) (2014) Protocol Electricity Generation.
for Uniformly Measuring and Expressing the Performance of Energy Storage Systems. 27. U.S. DOE (2014) Storage Plan Assessment Recommendations for the U.S. DOE.
8. U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) (2020) Form EIA-860. 28. U.S. DOE (2011) Energy Storage Activities in the United States Electricity Grid.
9. U.S. EIA (2020) Electric Power Monthly April 2020. 29. U.S. DOE (2012) Lithium-Ion Batteries for Stationary Energy Storage.
10. U.S. DOE (2020) “Global Energy Storage Database Projects.” 30. U.S. Geological Survey (2020) Mineral Commodity Summaries.
11. World Energy Council (2020) Five Steps To Energy Storage. 31. NREL (2020) "Declining Renewable Costs Drive Focus on Energy Storage."
12. SNL (2015) DOE/EPRI Electricity Storage Handbook in Collaboration with NRECA. 32. U.S. DOE (2014) Storage Plan Assessment Recommendations for the U.S. DOE.
13. U.S. DOE (2019) Solving Challenges in Energy Storage. 33. California Independent System Operator, California Public Utilities Commission, and the California
14. U.S. DOE (2013) Grid Energy Storage. Energy Commission (2014) Advancing and Maximizing the Value of Energy Storage Technology: A
15. Gür, T. M. (2018). “Review of electrical energy storage technologies, materials and systems: challenges California Roadmap.
and prospects for large-scale grid storage.” Energy & Environmental Science, 11(10), 2696–2767. 34. DSIRE (2020) Summary Maps: Energy Storage Target.
16. U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (2018) Energy and the Environment - Electricity Storage. 35. U.S. Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (2018) Order No. 841. Electric Storage Participation in
17. Energy Storage Association (ESA) (2020) “Mechanical Energy Storage.” Markets Operated by Regional Transmission Organizations and Independent System Operators.

Cite as: Center for Sustainable Systems, University of Michigan. 2020. “U.S. Grid Energy Storage Factsheet.” Pub. No. CSS15-17. September 2020