Energy Storage Is Changing the Game

The integration of large percentages of renewable energy is notoriously limited because of variability, though there are several tacks engineers take to mitigate this.

One, of course, is gas peaker plants.  In some parts of the U.S., large solar and wind farms are granted permits only if an equivalent amount of gas power is installed as well.  This overuse of natural gas is problematic in many ways, one of which is the methane leakages, some of which go unreported, that send this greenhouse gas, one that is far more potent than CO2, spewing into our atmosphere.

A far more elegant solution is energy storage, but historically, this has been fabulously expensive.  Fortunately, that is changing rapidly, at least according to consulting giant Wood Mckenzie, and their report here, claiming that batteries will beat out gas peaker plants in Europe by 2030.

We’re getting there, at least in terms of decarbonization of our energy. Will it come in time to avert disaster?  Will we be successful in addressing our other environmental challenges?  No one knows.