Green energy from storage batteries are replacing fossil fuels in California and Texas

1.9 million solar panels and 120,000 batteries at a California facility helped the state surpass 10,000 MW of photovoltaic storage in April.

Mark Rothleder, the vice president of the independent grid operator, California ISO (CAISO), said earlier this year that they will add another 1,134 megawatts in the first eight months of 2024. This is growth on top of the leap made last year. “In 2023 alone, the ISO successfully onboarded 5,660 megawatts of new power to the grid,” Rothleder said at a conference in San Diego…

Renewable production was enough to supply the grid on 40 out of 48 days this spring, compared to seven days in the whole of last year. Lithium batteries appear to be undercutting the use of fossil fuels. Gas accounts for 40% of California’s grid. However, its use in April registered its lowest proportion in seven years. “The data clearly shows that batteries are displacing natural gas when solar generation is ramping up and down each day in CAISO,” notes an analysis by Grid Status, a firm specializing in energy issues. Natural gas was king on the grid in April 2021, 2022 and 2023. CAISO was sending between 9,000 and 10,000 megawatts produced from gas to the grid once solar ran out. Last April, however, it amounted to only 5,000 megawatts… [California’s goal: run on 100% renewable energy by 2045.]

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Source: Slashdot

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