Another important issue concerns battery storage. California leads the way in large-scale battery storage in the United States. California’s 8.6 gigawatts of battery storage capacity represents about half of all utility-scale battery capacity in the United States. This is double the capacity in place in Texas, which also represents the second largest distributor of battery storage. What will the increase in battery storage allow? To store increasing volumes of excess energy generated by solar and wind plants and then discharge the excess energy to consumers once renewable energy decreases. California Independent System Operator (CAISO) power producers have been able to store increasing volumes of excess energy generated by California solar farms during the middle of the day. By bringing some of this excess energy into batteries rather than the grid, utilities can manage the sharp drop in prices when solar production peaks. Most U.S. energy systems grapple with the problem of generating too much solar capacity during sunny periods and not enough clean energy at other times of the day.