Giant Batteries Are Transforming the World’s Electrical Grids

From Bloomberg

Although they don’t produce energy themselves, batteries have advantages compared with renewable power arrays or gas-burning power plants, which are how utilities have traditionally added to the electricity supply. A battery farm can be set up almost anywhere, and homeowners rarely object to living near one. They’re getting cheaper: Global prices for large-scale energy storage systems have plunged 73% since 2017, according to BNEF. Their ability to switch on and off instantly lets them recharge when electricity is cheap and sell power when prices rise. And they’re relatively fast to deploy, with the installation at the Hummingbird facility taking less than a year. “Just the speed of that coming on has been amazing,” says John Zahurancik, senior vice president for the Americas at Fluence Energy Inc., one of the biggest battery developers in the US.