Key Takeaways
GridPoint, whose controls run in more than 20,000 commercial buildings, launched a plan to add onsite batteries across its customer base, targeting 2 GW.
Demand charges often make up 30% to 50% of a commercial electric bill, and GridPoint says batteries can add up to 15% in savings on top of the roughly 20% its controls deliver.
Four ownership models emerged in the same two weeks: controls-led batteries from GridPoint, retailer-sold leased batteries from Walmart and Base Power, charging software from Blink and utility-owned storage from a Colorado cooperative.
Battery systems under 1 MW qualify for the full 30% federal investment tax credit without prevailing wage requirements, according to Plante Moran.
Leases need to address who owns the battery, who keeps the savings and grid payments, and how the system is maintained and removed.
Onsite batteries are spreading through commercial portfolios because they cut demand charges, which often make up 30% to 50% of a commercial bill, and keep critical loads running during outages. Owners can buy batteries outright, host third-party systems or join utility programs, and systems under 1 MW can qualify for a 30% federal tax credit. The lease determines who captures the savings.
A Battery Behind Every Storefront
Two gigawatts. That is the battery capacity GridPoint aims to install across the more than 20,000 restaurants, stores and service buildings where its energy management systems already run. The company announced the initiative November 4, and it changes the math for multi-site operators who already pay GridPoint to manage heating, cooling and lighting.
GridPoint says its controls typically cut bills about 20%, and that batteries can add up to 15% more, mostly by trimming demand charges, which often make up 30% to 50% of a commercial bill. Demand charges bill a building for its single highest 15-minute or 30-minute draw in a month. A battery that discharges during that peak lowers the charge for the whole month.
The company also counted 1,699 weather-related outages at customer sites in 26 states last year. A battery sized for peak shaving can also carry refrigeration, point-of-sale systems and lighting through a short outage.
Four Ways to Own a Battery
The same two weeks produced four distinct models for putting storage in or near commercial property.
Controls-led. GridPoint adds batteries under an existing energy management relationship, so the operator works with one vendor for controls, dispatch and storage.
Retail distribution. Walmart made a strategic investment in Base Power, an Austin company that installs, owns and maintains home batteries for an upfront fee and uses the fleet to support the Texas grid at peak times. Walmart and Sam’s Club shoppers at participating Texas stores now get 20% off Base’s installation fee. Base has more than 35,000 Texas members, over 20,000 with a battery. “Base Power gives them a practical way to help lower energy costs,” said Shayne Wahlmeier, senior vice president of Walmart Energy. The program targets homes, but it puts a national retailer’s brand behind distributed storage, and Walmart Energy now has a stake in the business.
Software on existing equipment. Blink Charging rolled out its EnergyConnect software to 52 Blink-owned charging sites and reports an initial 21% cut in demand fees at high-capacity locations. Software that times charging around peaks delivers part of the battery benefit without new hardware.
Utility-owned. CORE Electric Cooperative, which serves more than 375,000 residents along Colorado’s Front Range, and Madison Energy Infrastructure plan 50 MW and 200 MWh of Tesla Megapacks at three sites by September 2027 to add distribution capacity for new development. In Colorado, Xcel Energy must also buy at least 50 MW a year in 2026 and 2027 from community-scale solar paired with batteries, typically 1 MW to 5 MW, connected to local distribution lines and chosen partly for location. Most are expected to be built by third parties, which creates a utility buyer for projects on commercial and industrial land.
The Tax Credit Still Works for Building-Scale Storage
The 2025 tax law accelerated the end of federal credits for wind and solar, but battery storage kept its place under Section 48E. Storage remains under the general phaseout, which begins after 2032 at the earliest, according to an October analysis by the accounting firm Plante Moran.
The rate matters most for building owners. The base credit is 6%, rising to 30% for projects that meet prevailing wage and apprenticeship rules or for battery systems with a maximum output under 1 MW. Most single-building systems fall under that threshold, which makes the full 30% credit available without the labor documentation larger projects require. A domestic content bonus can add 10 percentage points if a rising share of the components are made in the United States: 50% for projects starting construction in 2026 and 55% after.
A new restriction applies. Storage projects that began construction after December 31, 2025, lose the credit if their construction involves too much material assistance from a prohibited foreign entity, measured as a cost ratio that tightens each year. Owners should ask battery vendors to document compliance before signing.
Resilience at Small Scale
Public buildings are showing what the technology does in an outage. Issaquah, Washington, will add a 60 kWh sodium-ion battery to Pickering Barn, a city resilience hub with a 64.9 kW solar array, so the building can run on its own when the grid fails. Seattle-based Emerald Battery Labs will handle integration and safety certification, including UL 9540 and 9540A, and a $671,000 grant from TransAlta Centralia Generation supports the work. “Pairing solar power with battery storage at Pickering Barn will help keep essential services available during power outages,” said Mayor Mark Mullet.
In San Diego County, the Mesa Grande Band of Diegueno Mission Indians installed solar and batteries on three Tribal administration buildings that house government, food distribution and emergency response in an area where outages can last days. Each project is a small energy cell: generation, storage and essential load in one place, able to island when needed.
What the Lease Needs to Say
A battery changes the economics of a building, so it belongs in the lease. Owners should settle five questions before installation.
Who owns it. An owner-purchased battery is a building improvement. A third-party battery is equipment on the property, with its own access, insurance and removal terms.
Who keeps the savings. Under a net lease, demand charge savings flow to the tenant who pays the bill. Under a gross lease, they flow to the owner. Shared-savings clauses can split the benefit and give both parties a reason to cooperate.
Who keeps grid payments. Batteries enrolled in utility or market programs earn capacity and demand-response revenue. The lease should name who receives it and who controls dispatch.
Where it goes. Fire codes govern battery rooms and outdoor enclosures. Placement affects parking, landscaping and tenant space.
How it ends. Batteries wear and may need replacement during a long lease. The lease should cover replacement, decommissioning and what happens at tenant turnover.
Why Batteries, Why Now
Rising bills explain the timing. Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas researchers estimate data center demand had raised U.S. wholesale electricity prices 6.9% by 2025, and 15% in Northern Virginia. In Colorado, the average energy bill has risen more than 27% over five years, according to Common Charge, an advocacy coalition that supports distributed energy.
Commercial load is also catching up to residential load. The U.S. Energy Information Administration projects the two sectors roughly equal at about 1,530 billion kWh in 2026, with commercial pulling ahead in 2027 as data centers grow. Southern Company reported third-quarter commercial sales up 10.1%. Writing in POWER, Itron’s Nick Tumilowicz argues that utilities should count batteries, EV chargers and controllable building loads as planning resources to manage local constraints. A building that can cut its peak on request becomes useful to the utility as well as cheaper to run.
Implications, Opportunities and Risks for Owners
Implication: Demand charges become manageable. For buildings where demand charges dominate the bill, a battery turns a fixed cost into one that can be reduced. Under the industry convention of an 8% cap rate, every $1,000 of annual operating savings adds about $12,500 in property value.
Opportunity: Utility programs pay for flexibility. Colorado’s distributed solar and storage program and utility-owned batteries like CORE’s create buyers for storage sited where the grid needs it.
Opportunity: Resilience as a leasing feature. Tenants with refrigeration, data or medical loads value backup power and may pay for it.
Risk: Foreign-content rules. Tax credit eligibility now depends on supply chain documentation.
Risk: Split incentives. Without a clear lease clause, the party that pays for the battery may not capture its value.
Frequently Asked Questions
How do batteries lower commercial electric bills?
They discharge during a building’s monthly peak, which lowers the demand charge. GridPoint says demand charges often make up 30% to 50% of a commercial bill.
Is there still a federal tax credit for commercial batteries?
Yes. Battery storage remains eligible for the Section 48E credit, at 30% for systems under 1 MW or those meeting prevailing wage and apprenticeship rules, according to Plante Moran. Foreign-entity restrictions apply to projects that began construction after 2025.
Can a building owner host a battery without buying one?
Yes. Third-party models let a company install, own and maintain the battery in exchange for a fee or a share of savings, and some utilities own storage on customer or utility land.
Who gets the savings from a battery in a leased building?
It depends on the lease. Under a net lease the tenant typically pays the bill and keeps the savings unless a shared-savings clause says otherwise.
Sources
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Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas. “Processing Power: Data Centers and Wholesale Electricity Prices (Working Paper 2606).” Revised Oct. 2026. https://www.dallasfed.org/research/papers/2026/wp2606
FlexLoad. “Xcel Energy RFP: Public Service Company of Colorado (PSCo) Dispatchable Distributed Generation.” July 14, 2026. https://flexload.org/news/xcel-energy-rfp-public-services-company-of-colorado-psco-dispatchable-distributed-generation/
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