Note: Data last updated on April 3, 2025.
Data Source: California Energy Storage System Survey, California Energy Commission.
Analysis by CEC Economics
Highlights
- Energy storage capacity has grown tremendously since 2020. In 2024, California added 5,743 MW of energy storage, an increase of 69.2% compared to the 3,394 MW added in 2023. Furthermore, California had already added 7,272 MW to the grid in the first three months — more than in all of 2024.
- In 2024, California added 4,881 MW of utility-scale energy storage, 789 MW from the residential sector, and 73.5 MW from the commercial sector. Utility-scale energy storage made up 85% of the growth in 2024, representing an increase of 60.8% compared to 2023. However, the percentage growth was the highest in the residential sector, growing 159.6% year-over-year. As of April 3, 2025, California had added 23.2 GW of energy storage cumulatively, with over half of the capacity (12.2 GW) added after 2023.
Opportunity
- In November 2025, Governor Newsom announced that California had reached 16,942 MW (or 16.9 GW) of available utility-scale battery storage — about one-third of the estimated capacity needed to reach its goal of 100% clean energy by 2045. Together, solar plus batteries have eliminated more than 37% of natural gas use on the state’s main grid in the last two years.101
101 “Newsom touts California’s record battery energy gains at U.N. climate conference.” LA Times. November 13, 2025. Available at: https://www.latimes.com/environment/story/2025-11-13/newsom-touts-record-california-battery-energy-gains-at-un-conference