A report by IEEFA looks at trends in the U.S. to install utility scale batteries. The report’s author, Dennis Wamsted, gives examples of how it is replacing the peaking and seasonal generation being provided by gas and coal. Emissions aside, the numbers are starting to add up. In Hawaii the combination of solar generation and storage is expected to undercut the price for fossil fuel generation. In Texas, Vistra Energy’s batteries are soaking up the daytime solar peaks – otherwise curtailed and wasted – such that the investment is paying for itself. Utility-scale storage power capacity in the U.S. is still very small – at around 800MW – but Wamsted says the improving business case and economies of scale should drive its expansion faster. We give you the IEEFA press release, with additional graphics taken from the report.
Energy Post 2nd July 2019 read more »