Baltimore Sun: Could Battery Storage Projects Solve Maryland’s Electricity Crisis?

by | Sep 4, 2026 | News

This article was originally published in The Baltimore Sun.

MAREC Action director touts benefits of transmission-connected battery storage; group says developers are clamoring to build such facilities here

A large lithium-ion battery energy storage system operated by Key Capture Energy in Blasdell, N.Y. (just south of Buffalo), can power 15,000 homes for two hours during outages or high demand. Lithium-ion batteries account for the vast majority of installed utility-scale battery storage in the United States, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration. (Ted Shaffrey/AP File)
A large lithium-ion battery energy storage system operated by Key Capture Energy in Blasdell, N.Y. (just south of Buffalo), can power 15,000 homes for two hours during outages or high demand. Lithium-ion batteries account for the vast majority of installed utility-scale battery storage in the United States, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration. (Ted Shaffrey/AP File)
As Maryland looks to ease an energy crisis and bring ratepayers pricing relief, the state finds itself near the top regionally in terms of battery energy storage projects waiting to connect to the electric grid, new data shows.
When it comes to such proposed facilities, Maryland outpaces all but Virginia, with its concentration of tech data centers, and Illinois in the 13-state region managed by grid operator PJM Interconnection, according to an energy coalition that tracks PJM data.
The data shows that developers of battery storage, a technology that captures excess electrical energy in rechargeable batteries to be used later, are clamoring to build facilities in Maryland, according to MAREC Action (Mid-Atlantic Renewable Energy Coalition). The Silver Spring-based advocacy group is comprised of wind, solar and battery-storage developers as well as wind turbine and solar panel manufacturers.

 

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