Battery Storage, Intelligent Controls, and the Future of Large-Load Integration

BloombergNEF projects the U.S. will add 204 GW of battery storage over the next decade, a forecast 25% higher than estimates released immediately following the One Big Beautiful Bill’s passage. That outlook, consistently echoed across industry forecasts, reflects how rapidly battery storage is scaling across U.S. power markets, expanding beyond generation support to include large-load integration as accelerating data center growth collides with a constrained power grid.

As digital infrastructure scales to meet the demands of AI, cloud computing and grid-edge deployments, the need for fast, reliable and dynamic energy solutions is emerging as a defining challenge of the next decade. Interconnection queues, transmission congestion and operational risk are shaping project timelines, costs and viability. At the same time, data center operators face absolute requirements for uptime and performance, alongside growing expectations to stabilize and optimize energy use in ways that support the power grid as a whole.

In this Clean Power Insights presentation, Matt Ruza, Vice President of Commerical Development at FlexGen, draws on recent Orennia market analysis and FlexGen’s experience deploying and operating batteries across complex grid environments to examine how battery-enabled load flexibility is reshaping large-load energy strategy. These insights are increasingly relevant not just for data center developers, but also for utilities, regulators and system operators navigating the growing intersection of large loads, storage and grid reliability.

Batteries are no longer passive backup infrastructure. They are an active part of power infrastructure, with operational capabilities required to integrate large, highly variable loads reliably at scale. Successfully supporting modern data centers depends on three core capabilities. First, microgrid solutions enable islanding, black start capability and orchestration of multiple onsite energy resources. Second, advanced control strategies support ramp rate management, load smoothing, low voltage ride through (LVRT) and response to the sudden loss of large loads. Third, utility-scale operating experience, supported by cloud-based, SaaS-driven platforms, allows control systems to evolve as grid requirements, operating conditions and site configurations change.

The traditional model of continuous grid dependence and diesel backup is no longer tenable. A new paradigm for energy management in data centers is emerging, powered by battery storage and orchestrated by sophisticated, predictive software. Attendees will leave the session with a clear understanding of how battery-enabled flexibility, informed by Orennia’s analysis and FlexGen’s real-world operational experience, reduces deployment risk, improves resilience and supports more reliable grid outcomes.