Lower energy costs, community benefits drive 30% battery growth rate: RMI

A new report from the think tank RMI finds that large batteries connected to the power grid are doing real work to keep electricity flowing and costs down. In California, grid batteries supplied 13% to 19% of total power during the tightest moments of 2024, avoiding more than $29 million in peak energy costs. In Texas, batteries covered 6% to 9% of generation during the grid's tightest hours in 2025, though a rule change in December 2025 made it harder for batteries to help stabilize the grid there.

RMI also found that battery projects bring in real money for the towns that host them. A large battery project in Medway, Massachusetts, is expected to generate about $46 million for the town over 20 years. In Nevada, one battery facility will pay $3.4 million a year to local governments, and another solar-and-battery project will pay $170 million in taxes over its lifetime. The report also points to health benefits: swapping older gas "peaker" plants (backup plants that run only during high-demand periods) for batteries could save an estimated $5.3 million a year in health costs in one New York county and $3.8 million in a Texas county.

None of this changes anything for an individual homeowner right now, but it's a sign that large-scale battery storage is becoming a bigger, more permanent part of the grid, even as tariffs and new federal rules on foreign-made components create uncertainty about how fast that growth continues.