Battery Storage Hits 16% of New Solar Projects
Co-located storage now accompanies a growing share of new U.S. solar installations, with federal forecasters expecting it to exceed 30% within two years.
Updated on Nov. 5, 2026 in Energy
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As of September 2026, about 41 GW of new solar projects in the United States were deployed with co-located battery storage, equal to 16% of new solar projects. The share has swung sharply since 2017, when it stood near 2%, and peaked at 25% in 2023 before falling in 2024 and 2025.
Why it matters
Pairing batteries with solar lets operators store output and release it when wholesale prices are higher, which can smooth the economics of solar generation. Solar-plus-storage projects make up 86% of proposed hybrid facilities in the interconnection queue, suggesting the trend is likely to continue.
The figures come from federal energy agency tracking of co-located solar-plus-storage projects, which counted 436 such projects at the end of 2025 with 29 GW of solar and nearly 17 GW of storage. The source does not explain the 2024 and 2025 decline, and the forward projection of more than 30% within two years is an estimate.
The players
U.S. Energy Information Administration
The EIA is the statistical and analysis agency within the U.S. Department of Energy that publishes data on energy production, capacity, and prices.
The details
Operators can route solar output either to the grid or into the battery, depending on wholesale prices at the time. Storage capacity grew more than 26-fold in Texas and nearly sevenfold in California between 2021 and 2026, while solar generation rose 421% in Texas and 90% in California over the same period.
Timeline
2017: About 2% of new solar capacity was co-located with storage.
2023: Co-located storage reached 25% of new solar projects.
2024 and 2025: The co-located share declined over both years.
September 2026: Co-located storage reached 16% of new solar, about 41 GW.
Within two years: The co-located share is projected to pass 30%.
Seasonal Patterns
The rise of co-located storage follows the rapid expansion of utility-scale solar in Texas and California documented in EIA capacity data over the past five years. The 2024 and 2025 dip in the co-located share, followed by a rebound to 16% in 2026, departs from the steady climb seen from 2017 through 2023.
Batteries paired with solar can store electricity for release during higher-priced periods, which may affect how power is supplied and priced on local grids. Households and businesses in high-solar states may see these shifts reflected over time in how their electricity is generated and delivered.
The takeaway
Battery storage is becoming a standard feature of new solar in the United States, and tracking its share in federal data will show whether the projected climb past 30% materializes.
Further reading
Explore more on Energy developments shaping solar and battery deployment across the country.
Source note: This article includes information reported by Utility Dive.
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