Energy storage industry set aggressive goals for 2025 — and already crushed them

Nearly a decade ago, the U.S. energy storage industry set an ambitious target of deploying 35 gigawatts (GW) of grid-connected batteries by 2025. This goal has already been surpassed, with over 40 GW installed as of the third quarter of this year, including 4.7 GW added just in that quarter. Battery storage now accounts for nearly half of all new renewable power capacity deployed recently, with significant installations concentrated in Arizona, California, and Texas—states facing grid reliability challenges. These successes offer valuable lessons for other regions like the Midwest and East Coast, which are experiencing increased grid stress due to data center growth. Startups are innovating rapidly to capitalize on this momentum. Redwood Materials, co-founded by a former Tesla executive, is repurposing used electric vehicle batteries for grid storage and aims to deploy 20 gigawatt-hours by 2028. Base Power leases batteries to homeowners and aggregates them into virtual power plants, expanding beyond Texas with plans for a