Distributed energy — and especially batteries in homes — emerged as one of the strongest parts of the U.S. clean energy economy in a quarterly review by the Rhodium Group.
Investment in customer-sited generation and storage — systems installed by households and businesses — reached about $12 billion, more than doubling from $5 billion in the first quarter, according to the new Clean Investment Monitor note published by the Rhodium Group and MIT’s Center for Energy and Environmental Policy Research.
The 128% quarter-over-quarter increase marks the highest quarter on record for the category.
Support our coverage of distributed energy with a free or paid subscription.
Even more striking is the continued shift in what’s drawing the dollars. For the second consecutive quarter, residential batteries topped residential solar in attracting investment, with battery storage accounting for 75% of the money spent on distributed generation and storage.
The shift can be traced back to the federal government’s decoupling of incentives for batteries from solar in 2023, opening the door for batteries to be marketed independently as backup power, electricity-price management and grid services — not merely to store solar energy.
The new approach to battery marketing had runway to take hold before the 30% homeowner credit expired at the end of 2025.
Distributed energy was part of a broader surge in consumer clean-energy spending. Consumers and businesses invested $41 billion in zero-emission vehicles, distributed generation and storage, and heat pumps during the quarter — a 45% increase from the first quarter and 21% higher than a year earlier.
That spending drove an unusually strong quarter overall. Total clean investment reached $75 billion, up 22% from the first quarter and 4% from a year earlier, making it the second-highest quarter on record. Retail purchases accounted for 56% of that total.
Utility-scale solar and storage continued to capture the bulk of clean electricity investment at $19 billion, rising 8% from the first quarter but slipping 5% below year-ago levels. Wind investment fell 19% from the first quarter to $5 billion and was 8% below last year.
