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Data brief · Storage

Cheaper cells, longer waits: storage in five charts

Battery cell prices fell again this year. The time it takes to connect a storage project, and to get the transformer it needs, did not.

By Sam OkoyeSources: Vale Systems, Fieldline Research, Midland Grid

Chart 1

Left: average contracted price of LFP storage cells fell from $71/kWh in Q3 2024 to $47/kWh in Q3 2026. Right: average wait from request to agreement for standalone storage in the Midland Grid queue rose from 27 months to 34 months. CELLS GOT CHEAPER $71 → $47per kWh LFP storage cells, average contracted price, US deliveries $40 $50 $60 $70 $80 $71 $58 $47 Q3 2024 Q3 2025 Q3 2026 Source: Vale Systems supply outlook. Axis starts at $40. WAITS GOT LONGER 27 → 34months Standalone storage, request to signed agreement, Midland Grid 0 10 20 30 40 27 Sep 2024 31 Sep 2025 34 Sep 2026 Source: Midland Grid queue report, agreements signed in prior 12 months.

The average contracted price for LFP storage cells delivered to US projects was $47/kWh in the third quarter, 19% lower than a year earlier and down from $71 two years ago, according to Vale Systems. Over the same two years, the average wait from request to signed agreement for standalone storage in the Midland Grid queue rose from 27 months to 34.

The two measures come from different stages of a project. Prices matter when a developer places the battery order, which now happens late in the schedule. The queue comes first, and it is getting slower. The charts below follow a project from approval to delivery.

Chart 2

Developers say the queue sets the schedule

Main schedule constraint named by developers, 163 projects: connection queue 62%, equipment 19%, permitting 10%, battery supply 6%, other 3% Connection queue 62% Transformer or electrical equipment 19% Permitting and land use 10% Battery supply 6% Other 3%

Source: Fieldline developer survey, August 17 to September 25, 2026. One answer per project.

Fieldline Research asked 14 developers to name the main constraint for each of 163 projects. The connection queue was named for 101 of them. Battery supply was named for nine, and seven of those nine projects were planned for 2024.

Chart 3

Transformers are now the longest wait for equipment

Quoted lead time by equipment class, Q3 2026, median and range in months 0 mo. 6 mo. 12 mo. 18 mo. Main power transformers 15 High-voltage breakers 12 Pad-mounted transformers 10 Medium-voltage switchgear 8 Power conversion systems 7 Battery enclosures 5

Source: Vale Systems. Bars show the median quote in Q3 2026; lines show the range.

Main power transformers had a median quoted lead time of 15 months in Vale’s sample, with quotes from 12 to 18 months. They are the only major equipment class whose lead time rose. Battery enclosures, second-longest in 2024, are now at five months.

Chart 4

After approval, the transformer usually arrives last

Last major item to arrive on site, 34 projects with a signed agreement: main power transformer 22, HV breakers or switchgear 5, power conversion 4, battery enclosures 3 Main power transformer 22 HV breakers or switchgear 5 Power conversion 4 Battery enclosures 3

Source: Vale Systems, 34 projects with a signed agreement. Each square is one project.

Of the 34 projects in Vale’s sample with a signed interconnection agreement, the main power transformer was the last major item to arrive on site at 22. Nine of the 34 received a major item after their planned energization date, by a median of four months.

Chart 5

Grid equipment takes a bigger share of the budget

Share of equipment cost for a typical four-hour project. 2024: batteries 71%, power conversion 15%, grid-side 14%. 2026: batteries 64%, power conversion 17%, grid-side 19% Batteries Power conversion Grid-side electrical 2024 71% 15% 14% 2026 64% 17% 19%

Source: Vale Systems, typical four-hour project in its sample.

As battery prices fell, grid-side electrical equipment rose from 14% of equipment cost for a typical four-hour project in 2024 to 19% in 2026. Transformer prices rose 6% in the year to the third quarter.

Sources: Vale Systems storage equipment supply outlook, October 6, 2026; Fieldline Research storage outlook, October 13, 2026; Midland Grid queue status, third quarter 2026.