Modeled Utility-Scale Solar+Storage Operations 2020-2025
n this project, we model optimized hourly dispatch under energy, capacity, and ancillary-service market opportunities using a linear optimizer with perfect price and generation foresight and are sharing the hourly solar and storage generation profiles for our sample here using the base scenario.
Large-scale (1MW+) co-located solar and battery storage projects are expanding rapidly in the United States, but their realized contribution to the bulk power system remains poorly understood because public project-level operating data are limited. The Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory estimates the wholesale market value of 349 operational photovoltaic-plus-storage (PV+S) projects across the seven ISOs/RTOs and 19 additional balancing authorities, representing roughly 94% of the U.S. PV+S fleet in 2025.
The gap between optimized and empirical value reflects multiple barriers that prevent projects from offering their full value to the bulk power system, including: limited participation in wholesale markets such as ancillary services that remain lucrative in some regions; tax-driven grid-charging restrictions for older projects; simplistic rule-based dispatch (charge in the middle of the day and discharge in the evening); imperfect price and generation forecasting; weak or missing price signals in non-ISO regions; and dispatch incentives tied to contracts or state programs rather than bulk-system value. These findings suggest that PV+S can be cost-effective from a wholesale-market perspective, but that improved market participation, forecasting, and alignment of operational incentives are needed for projects to realize their full system value proposition.
Citation Formats
TY - DATA
AB - n this project, we model optimized hourly dispatch under energy, capacity, and ancillary-service market opportunities using a linear optimizer with perfect price and generation foresight and are sharing the hourly solar and storage generation profiles for our sample here using the base scenario.
Large-scale (1MW+) co-located solar and battery storage projects are expanding rapidly in the United States, but their realized contribution to the bulk power system remains poorly understood because public project-level operating data are limited. The Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory estimates the wholesale market value of 349 operational photovoltaic-plus-storage (PV+S) projects across the seven ISOs/RTOs and 19 additional balancing authorities, representing roughly 94% of the U.S. PV+S fleet in 2025.
The gap between optimized and empirical value reflects multiple barriers that prevent projects from offering their full value to the bulk power system, including: limited participation in wholesale markets such as ancillary services that remain lucrative in some regions; tax-driven grid-charging restrictions for older projects; simplistic rule-based dispatch (charge in the middle of the day and discharge in the evening); imperfect price and generation forecasting; weak or missing price signals in non-ISO regions; and dispatch incentives tied to contracts or state programs rather than bulk-system value. These findings suggest that PV+S can be cost-effective from a wholesale-market perspective, but that improved market participation, forecasting, and alignment of operational incentives are needed for projects to realize their full system value proposition.
AU - Seel, Joachim
A2 - Mulvaney Kemp, Julie
A3 - Cheyette, Anna
A4 - Gorman, Will
A5 - Chuang, Jessalyn
A6 - Millstein, Dev
DB - Open Energy Data Initiative (OEDI)
DP - Open EI | National Laboratory of the Rockies
DO -
KW - energy
KW - power
LA - English
DA - 2026/10/13
PY - 2026
PB - Lawrence Berkeley National Lab
T1 - Modeled Utility-Scale Solar+Storage Operations 2020-2025
UR - https://data.openei.org/submissions/8814
ER -
Seel, Joachim, et al. Modeled Utility-Scale Solar+Storage Operations 2020-2025. Lawrence Berkeley National Lab, 13 October, 2026, Open Energy Data Initiative (OEDI). https://data.openei.org/submissions/8814.
Seel, J., Mulvaney Kemp, J., Cheyette, A., Gorman, W., Chuang, J., & Millstein, D. (2026). Modeled Utility-Scale Solar+Storage Operations 2020-2025. [Data set]. Open Energy Data Initiative (OEDI). Lawrence Berkeley National Lab. https://data.openei.org/submissions/8814
Seel, Joachim, Julie Mulvaney Kemp, Anna Cheyette, Will Gorman, Jessalyn Chuang, and Dev Millstein. Modeled Utility-Scale Solar+Storage Operations 2020-2025. Lawrence Berkeley National Lab, October, 13, 2026. Distributed by Open Energy Data Initiative (OEDI). https://data.openei.org/submissions/8814
@misc{OEDI_Dataset_8814,
title = {Modeled Utility-Scale Solar+Storage Operations 2020-2025},
author = {Seel, Joachim and Mulvaney Kemp, Julie and Cheyette, Anna and Gorman, Will and Chuang, Jessalyn and Millstein, Dev},
abstractNote = {n this project, we model optimized hourly dispatch under energy, capacity, and ancillary-service market opportunities using a linear optimizer with perfect price and generation foresight and are sharing the hourly solar and storage generation profiles for our sample here using the base scenario.
Large-scale (1MW+) co-located solar and battery storage projects are expanding rapidly in the United States, but their realized contribution to the bulk power system remains poorly understood because public project-level operating data are limited. The Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory estimates the wholesale market value of 349 operational photovoltaic-plus-storage (PV+S) projects across the seven ISOs/RTOs and 19 additional balancing authorities, representing roughly 94\% of the U.S. PV+S fleet in 2025.
The gap between optimized and empirical value reflects multiple barriers that prevent projects from offering their full value to the bulk power system, including: limited participation in wholesale markets such as ancillary services that remain lucrative in some regions; tax-driven grid-charging restrictions for older projects; simplistic rule-based dispatch (charge in the middle of the day and discharge in the evening); imperfect price and generation forecasting; weak or missing price signals in non-ISO regions; and dispatch incentives tied to contracts or state programs rather than bulk-system value. These findings suggest that PV+S can be cost-effective from a wholesale-market perspective, but that improved market participation, forecasting, and alignment of operational incentives are needed for projects to realize their full system value proposition.},
url = {https://data.openei.org/submissions/8814},
year = {2026},
howpublished = {Open Energy Data Initiative (OEDI), Lawrence Berkeley National Lab, https://data.openei.org/submissions/8814},
note = {Accessed: 2026-10-13}
}
Details
Data from Oct 13, 2026
Last updated Oct 13, 2026
Submitted Oct 13, 2026
Organization
Lawrence Berkeley National Lab
Contact
Joachim Seel
510.486.5087
