Utility-scale battery storage capacity in the United States increased significantly during the last three years, with an annual average growth rate of 70%. By the end of 2025, the U.S. power system had operational battery storage capacity of 43.6 gigawatts (GW). During the first six months of 2026, operators added another 8.3 GW of battery storage capacity, reaching nearly 52 GW of nameplate battery storage capacity, based on our latest Preliminary Monthly Electric Generator Inventory.

Although the total value of energy trade between the United States and Canada fell by 11% in 2025 to an estimated $137 billion, according to data from the U.S. Census Bureau, the trade value of natural gas and electricity between the two countries increased slightly primarily because of increased natural gas prices and trade volume.

Hourly peak load in the Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT), the regional transmission organization serving most of Texas, reached a record 91.1 gigawatts (GW) on July 22, 2026, according to data reported to us for our Hourly Electric Grid Monitor.

China, the world's largest importer of crude oil, imported less crude oil in the second quarter of 2026 (2Q26) following higher crude oil prices that resulted from disrupted flows through the Strait of Hormuz. China's lower imports reduced global demand, softening the upward price effects from the disrupted supply through the strait.

The value of energy trade between the United States and Canada fell by 11% in 2025 to an estimated $137 billion, according to data from the U.S. Census Bureau. Energy trade value is the total value of energy imports and exports between two countries and is driven by commodity volumes and prices. Most of the U.S.-Canada trade value is U.S. energy imports from Canada—$111 billion in 2025—rather than from U.S. energy exports to Canada, which totaled $26 billion last year. Crude oil accounts for the largest component of U.S.-Canada energy trade, making up 69% of the total value traded in 2025.