While research published this week demonstrates that the US as a whole is embracing energy storage technology, with regulator FERC’s recent wholesale market ruling likely to have a “significant impact”, the picture varies greatly when looking from state-to-state, an analyst has said.

The US installed 41.2MW of energy storage capacity in the second quarter of 2016, up 126% from 18.3MW in Q1, according to the latest report from GTM Research.

Tesla Motors’ US$2.6 billion all-stock offer for SolarCity this week raised questions, as both firms’ share prices slumped on the announcement, and markets reflected a sense of both awe and unease at the proposed deal. GTM Research director of energy storage Ravi Manghani considers these questions, through the prism of Tesla chief Elon Musk’s self-titled ‘master plan, part deux’.

Energy storage installations in the US this year are expected to be treble what they were in 2014, making it the “biggest year ever” for storage, according to the latest forecasting by GTM Research.