Battery Storage News 2026: BESS Growth, Projects & Grid Infrastructure

Battery storage is no longer just a supporting technology sitting on the side of the power grid. It is becoming a pretty important part of modern electricity infrastructure.

In 2026, large battery energy storage system (BESS) projects are being developed and brought online across North America, Europe, Asia, and Australia. At the same time, the industry is dealing with some familiar challenges-supply chains, changing grid requirements, rising electricity demand, and the need for better ways to integrate renewable energy.

battery storage news

Recent battery storage news gives us a good idea of where the industry is heading. China, for example, temporarily halted approvals for new battery-storage manufacturing projects in early September. That could have an impact on future manufacturing expansion and, potentially, the global BESS supply chain. China remains a major player in battery production.

But while manufacturing policies are changing, project development hasn't exactly slowed down.

Anza Power recently signed an agreement with Amazon Australia for a 50 MW/200 MWh battery storage project. In Texas, Equinor's East Point Energy has started operations at the 100 MW/200 MWh Citrus Flatts Energy Center.

For the electrical industry, there's a simple takeaway here: more battery storage projects mean more demand for the equipment that connects those batteries to the grid.

And that's where transformers come in.

The basic idea behind battery storage isn't complicated.

Electricity can be stored when power is available or when prices are relatively low, then released later when demand rises or the grid needs additional support.

The interesting part is the scale.

BESS projects today range from smaller commercial installations to huge utility-scale systems measured in hundreds of megawatts and multiple gigawatt-hours. The market is also spreading into more applications, including renewable energy integration, peak shaving, backup power, frequency regulation, and grid balancing.

Solar power is one of the biggest drivers.

Solar generation usually reaches its highest output during the middle of the day, while electricity demand can remain high in the late afternoon and evening. A battery can store some of that midday electricity and release it later.

It sounds simple, but at grid scale, it makes a big difference.

Wind power has a similar problem. Wind generation changes with weather conditions, so storage can help smooth out those fluctuations and make renewable power easier to manage.

Data centers and industrial facilities are adding another layer of demand. As electricity consumption rises, utilities need more flexibility-and battery storage is one of the tools available to them.

Looking at recent battery storage news, it's clear that the market is moving beyond small demonstration projects.

In Australia, Anza Power signed a 50 MW/200 MWh battery storage agreement with Amazon Australia. The project is expected to support grid stability and help with renewable energy integration.

In Texas, Equinor's Citrus Flatts Energy Center has started operations. The project provides 200 MWh of storage and is Equinor's largest energy storage project in the United States so far.

Europe is seeing plenty of activity too. BW ESS has started construction on a 515 MWh BESS project in Italy and has also acquired additional projects in Spain, bringing the combined portfolio involved in the transaction close to 1.2 GWh.

Australia is also moving toward longer-duration storage. Energy Vault has secured land for its planned 125 MW/1,000 MWh Stoney Creek BESS project in New South Wales.

Put these projects together and the trend is hard to miss: BESS is getting larger, more commercial, and more closely connected to the main power grid.

A battery system can't simply be plugged directly into a medium-voltage or high-voltage utility network.

There are several pieces of electrical equipment between the battery and the grid. A typical utility-scale BESS may include battery racks or containers, a battery management system (BMS), power conversion system (PCS), energy management system (EMS), switchgear, protection equipment, and transformers.

A simplified electrical path looks like this:

Battery → PCS → Step-Up Transformer → MV/HV Switchgear → Grid

The batteries store electricity as DC power. The PCS converts the DC power into AC power. The transformer then raises the voltage to the level required by the site's medium-voltage or high-voltage system.

When the batteries are charging, the power flow simply goes in the opposite direction.

So, although the battery gets most of the attention, the transformer is still doing some very important work in the background.

For large BESS projects, transformer selection needs to consider the PCS output, voltage level, expected loading, ambient temperature, cooling method, harmonic conditions, and grid connection requirements.

A battery energy storage system doesn't operate quite like a traditional power plant.

A conventional generator may run at a fairly stable output for hours. A BESS can switch between charging and discharging much more frequently, sometimes within seconds.

That changes the way the electrical equipment needs to be considered.

BESS transformers can experience repeated changes in loading throughout the day. They therefore need to be designed around the actual operating profile of the project, rather than simply looking at the maximum nameplate rating.

Power conversion systems use power electronics, and those electronics can introduce harmonic currents and voltage distortion.

The transformer design should take the harmonic environment into account. Depending on the project, additional thermal margin or a specialized transformer design may be needed.

Charging and discharging create changing thermal conditions. Cooling design, temperature rise, enclosure configuration, and installation environment all matter.

A transformer installed outdoors in a hot climate, for example, may have very different cooling requirements from one installed inside a controlled facility.

Many utility-scale BESS projects use medium-voltage collection systems. This makes the step-up transformer an important link between individual battery/PCS blocks and the site's MV switchgear.

BESS component	Main function
Battery system	Stores electrical energy
BMS	Monitors and manages battery cells
PCS	Converts DC and AC power
EMS	Controls overall system operation
Transformer	Changes voltage for grid connection
MV switchgear	Provides switching and protection
Protection system	Detects faults and isolates equipment
Grid connection	Transfers electricity to and from the network

One of the biggest reasons behind the growth of BESS is the rapid expansion of renewable energy.

Solar and wind power are useful, but they don't produce electricity at a constant rate. Solar output depends on daylight, while wind output depends on weather.

That's where batteries can help.

Imagine a solar farm producing more electricity at noon than the grid needs. Instead of wasting part of that production, a BESS can charge during the high-generation period and discharge later when demand increases.

The same basic idea works with wind power.

This makes battery storage an increasingly useful way to improve the flexibility of renewable-heavy power systems.

It's especially relevant in areas where solar and wind projects are being connected to the grid faster than transmission infrastructure can be expanded.

Southeast Asia is another region worth keeping an eye on.

Recent reporting indicates that ASEAN countries spent more than $20 billion on Chinese clean-energy products in 2026, including batteries, grid equipment, solar systems, and electric vehicles. Imports were reportedly around 50% higher than the previous year.

Countries such as Indonesia, Vietnam, Malaysia, and the Philippines are seeing increasing electricity demand as industrial activity, urbanization, and electrification continue.

That creates an interesting opportunity for energy storage.

Battery systems can help manage renewable generation, support the grid during periods of high demand, provide backup power, and improve overall system flexibility.

And from an electrical equipment perspective, the opportunity goes beyond batteries themselves.

More BESS projects mean more demand for BESS transformers, medium-voltage switchgear, protection systems, cables, and grid connection equipment.

Lithium-ion batteries-especially LFP systems-continue to play a major role in the BESS market.

But the industry is also looking beyond the typical two- to four-hour storage system.

Long-duration energy storage is attracting more attention as renewable penetration increases. Some projects are being designed to provide many more hours of stored energy than traditional BESS installations.

For example, Google, MN8 Energy, and Eos Energy are working on a project involving zinc-based long-duration energy storage in West Virginia, with the system designed to provide up to 10 hours of storage.

This doesn't mean lithium-ion batteries are disappearing. Not at all.

Instead, the energy storage market is becoming more diverse. Different technologies can make sense for different applications depending on storage duration, cost, safety, operating conditions, and required grid services.

There's another market that shouldn't be overlooked: data centers.

AI workloads and high-performance computing are pushing data center power requirements higher. At the same time, obtaining new grid capacity can take years in some markets.

Battery storage can provide another option.

A BESS can support backup power, peak shaving, load shifting, and grid-support functions. Some data center developers are also looking at battery storage as a way to reduce their reliance on traditional diesel backup generation and manage periods of limited grid capacity.

For transformer manufacturers, this creates an additional opportunity.

A modern data center may contain utility transformers, medium-voltage transformers, UPS systems, battery storage, switchgear, and distribution transformers-all working together as part of one large electrical system.

The overall direction of the industry is pretty clear: battery storage is becoming a normal part of the modern power system.

The next phase may not simply be about installing more batteries. It will also be about making those batteries smarter and integrating them more effectively with the grid.

Technologies such as grid-forming inverters, long-duration energy storage, virtual power plants, hybrid solar-plus-storage systems, and advanced energy management systems are all receiving more attention.

At the same time, developers and equipment manufacturers have to think about safety, fire protection, cybersecurity, grid codes, equipment reliability, and long-term operating costs.

The transformer may look like the more traditional part of this increasingly digital system, but its job hasn't become any less important.

The rapid growth of battery energy storage is creating another demand cycle for electrical infrastructure.

Every utility-scale BESS project needs a reliable way to move electricity between the battery system and the grid. In many projects, the transformer is right in the middle of that process.

For transformer manufacturers, this isn't simply about supplying a standard transformer from a catalog.

BESS projects may require specific voltage ratios, impedance characteristics, cooling arrangements, harmonic considerations, enclosure designs, and protection interfaces. The requirements can vary significantly from one project to another.

As battery storage projects become larger and more common, demand for reliable BESS transformers is likely to grow with them.

For utilities, EPC contractors, renewable energy developers, and industrial customers, transformer selection should therefore be considered early in the BESS design process.

It shouldn't be something added at the last minute.

The latest battery storage news points to an industry that is growing quickly and becoming much more integrated with the power grid.

From Texas and Australia to Europe and Southeast Asia, battery energy storage is changing how electricity can be generated, stored, and delivered.

For the electrical equipment industry, the relationship is straightforward: more batteries mean more grid connections, and more grid connections create additional demand for transformers, switchgear, protection systems, and other power infrastructure.

As BESS technology continues to evolve, reliable transformer design will remain an important piece of the puzzle.

The battery may store the energy, but the transformer helps make sure that energy can actually get where it needs to go.

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