There’s massive change brewing in energy markets across America. Corporate giants are building data centers, the economy is becoming increasingly electrified, and we’re firmly planted in an era of increasing demand…and increasing electricity prices.
But the question isn’t really whether we have enough electricity.
It’s whether we have it when we need it.
PJM’s Cautionary Tale
The effect is particularly stark in PJM Interconnection, the regional transmission organization serving 65 million people across 13 states and Washington, D.C. After capacity auction prices jumped tenfold in 2024, they surged another 22% this past July. Analysts project residential retail rates in PJM territory could climb 30% to 60% by 2030, driven largely by these capacity auction costs. But the irony is that much of our grid is overbuilt to handle perhaps a dozen critical peak hours each year. The rest of the time, that excess capacity sits idle.
Virginia Shows There’s Another Way
Something interesting is happening in rural Virginia that points to a solution. Two 10-megawatt battery systems in Exmore and Tasley took about a year to permit, broke ground in April 2025, and came online last fall. Contrast that with large-scale projects that can take years to connect to the grid.
These 10-megawatt systems occupy approximately one acre each at local substations, dodging the transmission interconnection bottleneck to deliver power when and where it’s needed, reducing costs and making the grid more reliable in the process.
And in Danville, Virginia, a municipal utility’s first 10.5-megawatt battery system that went online in 2022 is on track to save customers $40 million over two decades. Danville’s second storage project, an 11-megawatt system being built by Lightshift Energy, is slated to come online in the first half of 2026 and projected to save $30 million over 20 years. This isn’t theoretical. This is actual money staying in ratepayers’ pockets.
The Texas Model
In the southern U.S., Texas has gone from zero to approximately 12 gigawatts of batteries in five years, and the move wasn’t driven by climate mandates. The state has no monopoly utilities and no state policies accelerating clean energy, yet developers flocked there because the economics work. When the Electricity Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT) faced similar heat waves to PJM this summer, battery storage injected power during peak evening hours, stabilizing prices and reliability.
Storage Changes the Equation
Battery energy storage systems (BESS) do something conventional generation can’t. They turn electricity into a flexible resource. They store excess energy when supply exceeds demand and deliver that power when demand peaks. This isn’t just about smoothing out solar and wind variability. It’s about rethinking how we match generation to consumption.
The U.S. Energy Department defines energy reliability as the ability to consistently deliver power even in the face of instability or unexpected system failures. Storage provides that reliability by adding flexibility to the grid, providing uninterrupted power whenever and wherever consumers need it.
This is where distributed resources like community solar and battery systems become strategic, not just environmental, choices. They can interconnect faster— using local distribution lines rather than regional transmission infrastructure—delivering both affordability and reliability by providing power closer to where it’s needed.
The Bottom Line for Batteries and the Grid
At Chaberton Energy, we’ve been developing community solar and business-owned solar projects in PJM states for nearly six years. Now we’re increasingly focused on standalone storage and storage paired with solar for exactly this reason. It’s not just about adding megawatts, it’s about adding megawatts that can show up at 7 p.m. on a humid, 96-degree Tuesday night in August.
The question isn’t whether we have enough electricity. It’s whether we’re smart enough to capture it when we make more than is needed and deliver it when generation doesn’t meet demand. Projects in Virginia and across PJM territory are proving that distributed battery storage and community solar can ease grid strain, lower costs, and provide the flexibility our changing energy landscape demands.
That’s not a theoretical future. It’s happening now.
About Chaberton Energy
Headquartered in Maryland, Chaberton Energy is a public benefit corporation developing renewable distributed energy projects, with a particular emphasis on community solar, solar for businesses, and battery energy storage. Chaberton was named to the 2024 and 2025 Inc. 5000 list of America’s fastest-growing private companies, ranking as the No. 2 fastest-growing energy company, the No. 1 fastest-growing Maryland company, and the No. 53 fastest-growing company overall.
Media Contact
Lia Morrison
lia.morrison@chaberton.com
412-573-9095
