​Grid-scale storage is nascent in PJM, but state governments are pushing the buildout forward. Three states (New Jersey, Maryland, and Illinois) are running competitive procurement programs. Additionally, Virginia mandates grid-scale storage through its utilities.

Elsewhere, support is thin: Michigan applies mandates to utilities only outside of PJM's footprint, Pennsylvania and Delaware are still forming their programs, and the remaining states have no policies or mandates at all.

Key takeaways

• Three states in PJM actively back storage through competitive programs: New Jersey targets 2 GW by 2030, Maryland aims for 3 GW by 2034, and Illinois is seeking 3 GW by 2030.
• At the transmission level, the targeted volumes are 1 GW in New Jersey and 1.6 to 2.85 GW in Maryland, while Illinois's 3 GW target is all utility-scale, but only partly inside PJM.
• The three states support transmission-level batteries differently. New Jersey provides fixed revenues to the asset owner, Maryland offers a hedge for capacity revenues, and Illinois hedges the whole stack against a reference index through a 20-year Indexed Storage Credit.
• Virginia has PJM's largest and longest-term storage target, roughly 19 to 21 GW by 2045. Virginia supports this target through a utility procurement mandate led by Dominion, not a state-run program.

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How the three state-run programs compare

New Jersey, Maryland, and Illinois all run competitive procurement programs. All three are mid-cycle in 2026 with decision points between August and October.

They run a spectrum of support mechanisms, from a fixed payment that leaves market revenue with the developer to a hedge that pegs total take-home revenues to a strike price.

The programs also vary in the time between bid submissions and decisions. Maryland takes about 7 months, while Illinois confirms winners within days by front-loading qualifications and ranking sealed bids mechanically.