The US energy storage market installed a record 19GWh in the second quarter of this year — a 17% rise over the same period in 2025 — buoyed by hyper investment activity in the data centre market, latest analysis shows.

Utility-scale ESS deployments totalled 4.7GW/17.6GWh during the period, down 8% year-on-year in megawatt terms as key markets are saturating, according to the quarterly US Energy Storage Monitor (ESM), released on September 22 by Wood Mackenzie Power & Renewables and the American Clean Power Association.

Data centre buildout boosted the US storage outlook across all segments, because storage can provide capacity faster, cheaper and more reliably than gas alone, ESM said.

As hyperscalers increasingly face grid-connection bottlenecks, utility-scale storage will enable speed to power for data centres, either on-site to manage asset load or at the system level to support evolving grid needs.

“Distributed storage’s value proposition is broadening beyond customer centric benefits to include grid services, as the industry seeks to position virtual power plants (VPPs) as a key enabler of load growth,” said ESM.

A separate report — Wood Mackenzie’s Q3 2026 Power & Renewables Compass — published on October 1, said the race to build data centre projects has made ‘speed to power’ a top priority.

David Brown, Wood Mackenzie’s director of global integrated energy research, said: “New high-voltage transmission is the traditional answer, but decade-long build times are far too slow.”

The report considers three ‘faster infrastructure pathways’:

• VPPs, deliverable in 6-18 months, with data centre buyers pursuing a 19GW pipeline led by the US market, but where new utility and ISO regulations are needed to scale VPPs further; 
• Grid enhancing technologies — unlocking 5%-50% more capacity from existing transmission in weeks to 18 months;
• Around-the-meter projects — bypassing the grid entirely, these projects with equipment secured and voltage ride-through compliance confirmed “can be delivered in 24-48 months”, but in-flight and early-stage projects could face three to six-year equipment wait times.

The latest reports are in line with a forecast made last May by Goldman Sachs Commodities Research where US data centre power demand is predicted to more than double to 66GW in 2027 from 31GW in 2025, driven by an accelerating buildout of AI infrastructure.

However, Goldman Sachs warned that only about 50%-60% of data centre capacity scheduled for the next one to two years was expected to come online on time amid delays and cancellations.

Batteries International reported this August that Energy Vault had agreed a deal to supply battery storage, grid-forming power conversion systems and AI infrastructure control software for a 1.25GW hyperscale datacentre project in Texas.

The company said it would work with an undisclosed partner to jointly develop the integrated, off-grid power systems in a deal worth around $500 million-$600 million.