TL;DR
Get backup power and energy gear delivered free with Prime
- Fast, free delivery on millions of items
- Prime Video, Amazon Music and more included
- Member-only deals all year
A dataset from the Electric Power Research Institute shows the annual failure rate for U.S. commercial and utility-scale batteries fell by more than 97% between 2016 and 2025, while cumulative deployments increased 250-fold. The figures include failures such as fires, explosions and arc flashes, but the dataset is small and does not measure how severe each incident was.
The annual failure rate for U.S. commercial and utility-scale batteries fell by more than 97% from 2016 to 2025, even as cumulative deployments grew 250-fold, according to data compiled by the nonprofit Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI). The trend suggests reported failures have become less frequent as the grid-storage fleet has expanded, though the underlying dataset is small and does not show the severity of each event.
EPRI’s analysis tracks reported failures of commercial and grid-scale battery systems, including fires, explosions and arc-flash events. A report on global incidents found that annual failure rates dropped as installations rose. To examine the U.S. specifically, the report’s data were compared with deployment figures from the Solar Energy Industries Association and Benchmark Mineral Intelligence. On that basis, the U.S. annual failure rate was more than 97% lower in 2025 than in 2016, while cumulative deployments increased 250-fold.
The rate was zero in three separate years over the past decade, meaning the dataset recorded no known failures in those years. Those zero-failure years do not establish that a failure is impossible; they reflect the reported incident tally for each year. The figures also count failures rather than ranking them by size, duration or consequences, so a small equipment event and a major fire do not carry equivalent human or financial impacts in the raw count.
Several developments may help explain the downward trend. Safety standards introduced after early installations, changes in battery design and more sophisticated project layouts have improved over time, according to the report. The data show the relationship between growing deployment and a lower reported failure rate, but do not by themselves isolate how much of the change comes from standards, engineering, reporting practices or other factors.
How Lower Failure Rates Affect Siting
Fire concerns have become a public and permitting issue as batteries take a larger role in supplying power when electricity demand rises or renewable generation is unavailable. The dataset gives communities a measure of how often failures have been reported relative to the expanding fleet, rather than requiring decisions to rest only on memorable incidents. That can help inform discussions about proposed projects, emergency planning and local safety requirements.
The figures do not remove the need to evaluate a particular site or its consequences if something goes wrong. Large fires can be difficult to extinguish using conventional methods, and the event count alone does not capture potential exposure for nearby residents or responders. But EPRI’s comparison indicates that grid battery units now fail at a rate comparable to oil-filled substation transformers, equipment that has been used on the grid for decades. That comparison may help put battery risk in perspective, while not making the technologies identical in design or hazard.
Battery projects can also bring grid reliability benefits, tax revenue and possible downward pressure on electricity costs, the source report notes. Communities weighing those potential benefits against safety concerns need data that distinguishes the frequency of incidents from their severity. EPRI’s figures help with the first question, but leave the second only partly answered.
home battery backup system with inverter
As an affiliate, we earn on qualifying purchases.
As an affiliate, we earn on qualifying purchases.
From Early Fires to Newer Standards
Battery storage has become a leading choice for new on-demand grid power in the United States. At the same time, highly visible fires have shaped public discussion of proposed projects. One of the most severe U.S. events in the source report occurred outside Phoenix in 2019, when a battery fire sent four emergency responders to hospital with serious injuries. The report describes it as the only U.S. grid-battery fire so far to cause significant bodily harm.
Another widely cited incident occurred at California’s Moss Landing facility in January 2025. The fire did not injure anyone, but it largely destroyed the power plant and led to an evacuation of the surrounding community for several days. Its scale has made Moss Landing a reference point in local debates about new battery projects, even though a single incident cannot describe the overall failure rate.
EPRI’s analysis places these incidents against a longer record of installations and reported failures. It also compares battery failure frequency with that of oil-filled transformers, which Srinivasan described as established equipment familiar to grid operators. The comparison concerns failure rates; it does not imply that battery systems and transformers have the same failure modes or consequences.
“There just aren’t a lot of failures, which is a good thing, but that means you don’t have a very robust dataset to analyze.”
— Lakshmi Srinivasan, lead author of the EPRI report
whole house surge protector for electrical panel
As an affiliate, we earn on qualifying purchases.
As an affiliate, we earn on qualifying purchases.
Limits of the Incident Record
The dataset is a small sample, EPRI’s lead author said, which makes it difficult to draw strong conclusions from relatively few events. The source material does not provide a complete account of how incidents are identified or reported, and it does not break down the 2025 rate by battery chemistry, facility size or project design. It is also not clear from the figures how much the decline reflects safer equipment and practices versus changes in reporting or the mix of installations.
The failure tally does not measure event severity, duration or total damage. A lower rate therefore does not mean that all battery projects pose the same risk, or that a rare incident would have minor consequences. The available material also does not quantify how the U.S. rate compares with other countries, where energy-development rules and safety standards differ.
As an affiliate, we earn on qualifying purchases.
How Communities May Use the Data
The EPRI figures are likely to inform continuing discussions over where and how battery projects are approved, alongside site-specific safety plans and local emergency response needs. The source material does not identify a new federal rule, a scheduled policy decision or another immediate milestone tied to the report. The next useful evidence would include more years of incident data, clearer reporting of event severity and information that allows comparisons across system types and project sizes.
For now, the reported decline offers evidence that failure rates have fallen as U.S. installations expanded, but it is not a forecast or a guarantee about future projects. Communities and grid operators will still need to weigh the reported frequency against the possible consequences of individual incidents and the reliability and affordability benefits storage may provide.
battery energy storage system smoke and heat detector
As an affiliate, we earn on qualifying purchases.
As an affiliate, we earn on qualifying purchases.
Key Questions
How much did the U.S. grid-battery failure rate fall?
EPRI’s data show the annual failure rate in 2025 was more than 97% below the 2016 rate. The comparison concerns reported failures relative to the installed fleet, not a guarantee that future incidents will not occur.
What does EPRI count as a battery failure?
The analysis includes reported events such as fires, explosions and arc flashes involving commercial and grid-scale battery systems. The raw tally does not indicate how large or damaging each event was.
Did battery deployments grow while failures fell?
Yes. The data comparison found that cumulative U.S. deployments grew 250-fold between the start and end of the period examined, while the annual failure rate fell by more than 97% from 2016 to 2025.
Does the report mean battery fires are no longer a concern?
No. The report describes a lower reported failure rate, not zero risk. The dataset is small, and its raw counts do not measure the severity or consequences of incidents such as the Moss Landing fire.
Source: rss
Halloween Picks
halloween
As an affiliate, we earn on qualifying purchases.
