Modeled Utility-Scale Solar and Storage Operations 2020-2025
In 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.
For more information see the Research Project Page and README resources below.
Citation Formats
TY - DATA
AB - In 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.
For more information see the Research Project Page and README resources below.
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
KW - utility-scale
KW - solar
KW - storage
KW - dispatch
KW - capacity
KW - linear optimizer
KW - price
KW - generation
KW - hourly
KW - profile
KW - data
KW - battery
KW - United States
KW - LBNL
KW - wholesale market value
KW - photovoltaic-plus-storage
KW - processed data
LA - English
DA - 2026/10/13
PY - 2026
PB - Lawrence Berkeley National Lab
T1 - Modeled Utility-Scale Solar and Storage Operations 2020-2025
UR - https://data.openei.org/submissions/8814
ER -
Seel, Joachim, et al. Modeled Utility-Scale Solar and 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 and 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 and 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 and Storage Operations 2020-2025},
author = {Seel, Joachim and Mulvaney Kemp, Julie and Cheyette, Anna and Gorman, Will and Chuang, Jessalyn and Millstein, Dev},
abstractNote = {In 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.
For more information see the Research Project Page and README resources below. },
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: 2026-11-04}
}
Details
Data from Oct 13, 2026
Last updated Oct 14, 2026
Submitted Oct 13, 2026
Organization
Lawrence Berkeley National Lab
Contact
Joachim Seel
510.486.5087
