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A Solar Energy Industries Association report found that Texas installed more energy storage than any other state, accounting for 27% of the\u00a0nationwide growth.\u00a0<\/p>\n
San Antonio Express-News file photo<\/p>\n
A Solar Energy Industries Association report found that Texas installed more energy storage than any other state, accounting for 27% of the\u00a0nationwide growth.\u00a0<\/p>\n
San Antonio Express-News file photo<\/p>\n
A record amount of battery energy storage was installed nationwide during the first quarter of the year, with Texas playing a key role in the surge, according to a\u00a0Solar Energy Industries Association<\/a> report.<\/p>\n There was enough storage installed across the country in the first four months of the year to deliver 10 gigawatts of energy over an hour, a 32% increase compared with the first quarter of 2025.<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n Texas is installing more utility-scale storage<\/a> than any other state, accounting for 27% of the growth. The added storage is capable of generating 2.7 gigawatts over an hour \u2014 enough to power 675,000 homes during a sunny day.<\/p>\n The next closest states were Arizona, which added enough storage to produce 940 megawatts over an hour, and California, with 936 megawatts over an hour.<\/p>\n \u201cTexas is really one of the leaders,\u201d said Joan White<\/a>, the association\u2019s senior director of storage and interconnection policy. \u201cI think it\u2019s because, partially following Winter Storm\u00a0Uri, there\u2019s a high interest in maintaining reliability. Texas has needed major energy resources to come online in a short amount of time to keep the lights on.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n San Antonio Express News Logo<\/p>\n Make us a Preferred Source on Google to see more of us when you search.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Add Preferred Source<\/p>\n <\/a><\/p>\n READ MORE:\u00a0CPS Energy\u2019s 120-megawatt battery project aims to strengthen San Antonio\u2019s grid<\/a><\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n San Antonio\u2019s\u00a0CPS Energy<\/a> forecasts that its peak demand could quadruple<\/a> as data centers flock to the state. The city-owned utility has been actively expanding storage in its portfolio, which currently accounts for nearly 5% of its total generation. Its latest project, a\u00a0120-megawatt energy storage system<\/a> in partnership with San Antonio-based OCI Energy, started construction this week on the Southeast Side.<\/p>\n The speed in which storage and solar can come online are one of their advantages, White said. Utility-size storage and solar projects need lead times of only one to two years.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cFor a state that\u2019s seeing massive growth in demand, energy storage, and especially energy storage with solar, is one of the quickest resources to meet that demand,\u201d White said.<\/p>\n But, she added, \u201cwe\u2019re seeing a ton of price pressure. A lot of that\u2019s coming from the rising demand driven by AI and data centers.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n As more energy storage is being produced, the better the U.S. becomes at manufacturing and deploying it, resulting in a \u201cremarkable reduction in cost for energy storage,\u201d White said. Batteries increasingly are being made in the United States, she said, driven by consumer technology.\u00a0<\/p>\n Texas and California are now tied with each having a total of 17\u00a0gigawatts of energy storage in their portfolios. This is enough energy to power more than 4 million homes on a summer day.<\/p>\n \u201cIn Texas, there\u2019s a ton of solar, so it\u2019s soaking up solar during the day, and then selling it during those peak periods when prices are really high,\u201d White said. \u201cThat helps keep prices down.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/p>\n