The US power division retention market fair posted its biggest fourth ever, adding 20.2 gigawatt-hours (GWh) of new capability in Q2 2026.
The document fourth brought total power division retention installations for the archetypal fractional of 2026 to 30.8 GWh – up 23% twelvemonth complete twelvemonth – according to the new “US Energy Storage Market Outlook” from the Solar Energy Industries Association (SEIA) and Benchmark Mineral Intelligence.
Utility-scale batteries drove the record
Nearly all the growth came from ample grid batteries. Utility-scale projects accounted for concerning 18 GWh of Q2 installations, supported by seven gigawatt-hour-scale projects – four in Arizona, two in California, and one in Utah.
Arizona solitary added a document 6.2 GWh, the strongest fourth always recorded by a sole state. Texas added 3.8 GWh, and California installed another 3.6 GWh. Of the utility-scale capability installed during the quarter, 44% was paired alongside solar, during 56% was standalone storage.
That matters since batteries can accusation whenever power is abundant and comparatively cheap, afterward dispatch it rear to the grid whenever petition and prices rise. During extreme heat, that stored power can assistance shield the evening hours whenever sun-related output drops but air-conditioning petition remains high.
Battery retention supplied additional power to the US grid during the archetypal eight months of 2026 than it did during all of 2025, according to the report.
“This document growth highlights that retention is a mighty reliability tool that strengthens our energy security, meets rising demand, and puts downward force on power bills,” stated Tim Pawlenty, chairman and CEO of SEIA.
Storage growth spreads beyond California and Texas
More than 74% of US power division retention capability installed in Q2 2026 was in states that Donald Trump won in the 2024 presidential election, alongside Arizona, Texas, and Utah leading.
SEIA additionally notes that US utility-scale power division capability grew from 88 GWh to 165 GWh during the archetypal 18 months of the Trump administration. Those figures display whenever and anywhere the capability entered service, but the study doesn’t trait idiosyncratic project funding decisions to a particular administration.
“Energy retention is no longer fair a California and Texas narrative anymore,” stated Shan Tomouk, BESS & Energy Lead at Benchmark Minerals. “We’re seeing powerful pipeline growth in Arizona, Nevada, Oregon, Colorado, and multiple another states.”
Demand is operating onward of former expectations, so Benchmark raised its retention forecast through 2030 by 11.5%, to 683 GWh. More than 10% of all US power division retention capability now functioning came online in Q2 alone.
Home batteries have a coarse quarter
Residential power division retention saw a much weaker quarter. US homes added 657 megawatt-hours (MWh) of batteries in Q2, downward 27% twelvemonth complete year.
The study attributes the decrease partially to the elimination of the national 25D residential spotless energy tax credit and partially to homeowners rushing installations into 2025 onward of the incentive change.
Benchmark motionless sees a long-term case for residence batteries as power expenses rise, net-metering rules change, power outages remain a concern, and utilities develop virtual power factory and demand-response programs. But it forecasts residential installations falling 16% in 2026 following jumping 56% in 2025.
Commercial and manufacturing retention added about 1.8 GWh during Q2. Benchmark expects data centers to be a important origin of forthcoming petition as developers merge batteries alongside onsite solar, wind, and, in several cases, natural gas generation to activity about grid constraints and oversee fast-changing power loads.
US power division manufacturing additionally expanded during the quarter. Tesla brought its third Megafactory online in Texas, alongside the capability to create 50 GWh of Megapacks annually, and began shipping Megapacks containing domestically manufactured lithium metal phosphate cells.
Benchmark now expects the US to instal concerning 71 GWh of power division retention in 2026 – about 20% additional than in 2025 – as utilities and grid operators competition to keep up alongside rising power demand.
Read more: 1 in 7 US students now goes to a solar-powered school
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