Slow Start to Global 2026 BESS Deployments in January, China Continues to Dominate

Why It Matters

The dip highlights the sensitivity of BESS growth to policy environments, especially in China, and underscores the need for diversified regional development to sustain the global energy‑storage transition.

Key Takeaways

• Global BESS deployments fell 25% YoY in Jan 2026.
• China contributed 1.9 GW, down 30‑50% YoY.
• Oceania led region with 2 GWh, driven by Australia.
• Europe added 628 MW, notable projects in UK and Bulgaria.
• Six projects ≥1 GWh entered supply or construction phase.

Pulse Analysis

The January slowdown in BESS installations reflects a broader recalibration of China’s energy‑storage strategy. After years of aggressive subsidies and mandates, Beijing has tightened support, prompting developers to pause or scale back projects. This policy pivot not only reduced domestic capacity additions but also rippled through the global supply chain, tightening demand for lithium‑ion cells and balance‑of‑system components. Analysts now expect China’s contribution to global BESS growth to moderate, shifting the market’s reliance toward regions with clearer regulatory frameworks.

Meanwhile, regional dynamics reveal pockets of resilience. Oceania’s surge, anchored by Australia’s 1.77 GWh Eraring battery, demonstrates how mature renewable markets can accelerate storage to address intermittency and grid stability. Europe’s 628 MW rollout, featuring projects in the UK, Bulgaria, Greece, and Spain, signals continued policy incentives and corporate procurement driving storage adoption. North America’s modest 169 MW addition underscores a steady, albeit slower, build‑out as utilities integrate storage with solar and wind portfolios. These regional efforts collectively cushion the global shortfall and highlight the diversification of storage demand.

Looking ahead, the pipeline remains robust, with six projects of at least 1 GWh moving into supply agreements or construction, including notable ventures in the United States, Italy, Romania, and multiple Chinese sites. Investors are closely watching these developments, as large‑scale storage promises new revenue streams from ancillary services and capacity markets. Manufacturers are also adjusting production plans to align with a more distributed deployment landscape, emphasizing flexibility and cost‑competitiveness. The evolving policy environment and regional momentum suggest that, despite the early‑year dip, the BESS sector is poised for sustained growth over the medium term.

Slow start to global 2026 BESS deployments in January, China continues to dominate

By Cameron Murray · February 18, 2026

The Eraring Battery 1 project, a 460 MW/1,770 MWh BESS located in New South Wales, Australia. Image: Origin Energy (via LinkedIn).

The first monthly global grid‑scale BESS deployment figures for 2026 are in from Rho Motion, showing a year‑on‑year fall and China continuing to account for the majority of activity.

Data from the research firm, part of Benchmark Mineral Intelligence, show that around 3.5 GW / 10.5 GWh of grid‑scale battery energy storage system (BESS) entered commercial operations in January.

That is a roughly 25 % fall on the 5.2 GW / 13.8 GWh that came online in January 2025, when Energy‑Storage.news launched this monthly series for ESN Premium.

China itself saw deployments fall substantially too, with around 1.9 GW / 6.2 GWh coming online, a sharp 30‑50 % drop from the 3.9 GW / 9.52 GWh in the same period last year.

The Chinese domestic market’s growth is expected to be less rapid going forward after a significant policy shift, though it is still likely to drive the global figures for some time.

The Oceania region had its strongest month to‑date with over 2 GWh installed, the majority of which was the Origin Eraring BESS in Australia at 1.77 GWh.

The largest project to come online in January meanwhile was the CGDC Bayinguoleng Ruoqiang Standalone Energy Storage Project in Xinjiang, China, at 2 GWh.

Europe had a strong month, with 628 MW / 1,358 MWh entering commercial operations. Notable projects that we reported on in January which may help make up that figure are a 505 MWh project in Bulgaria, a 600 MWh project in the UK, three Greek projects totalling 144 MWh, and two projects in Spain totalling 120 MWh.

In North America, 169 MW / 523 MWh came online, while in South & Central America there was 110 MW / 220 MWh that did so. The latter is all from Atlantica’s co‑located BESS project called “Chile PV 3,” announced in January.

Notably, some 15.6 GWh of BESS projects reached the phase of technology‑supply deals or construction start. Six of these projects were 1 GWh or over, in China (three), the US, Romania and Italy.

• The US project was the Pioneer solar‑plus‑storage project from IPP Brightnight in Arizona.

• In Italy, developer and IPP Aer Soléir reached FID on a 250 MW, 4‑hour BESS called Rondissone, claimed as the largest project under construction in the country.

• In Romania, IPP Enery announced the start of construction on a 761 MW solar, 1 GWh BESS project.