'FOSSILS' DAYS ARE NUMBERED' AS FERC CLEARS BATTERIES TO COMPETE WITH POWER PLANTS
FULL STORY: BLOOMBERG TECHNOLOGY @TECHNOLOGY
MARCH 11, 2018PRIMARY AUTHOR MARK CHEDIAK @MARKCHEDIAK00
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Were reaching an inflection point, agreed venture capitalist Steve Westly, former controller and chief fiscal officer for the state of California. In the future, people will talk about energy in terms of kilowatts per hour instead of oil per barrels.
The question is no longer if batteries will disrupt the power sector, but rather how much and how fast? wrote CERAWeek organizers IHS Markit in one session description.
The rise of durable, energy-dense, easy-to-charge lithium ion batteries have prompted predictions that electric vehicles will outsell internal combustion cars by 2040. Now the batteries advance into power markets threatens the reign of natural gas, which at the moment generates about a third of U.S. electricity, notes Bloomberg correspondent Mark Chediak. In California and Arizona, utilities including PG&E Corporation and Pinnacle West Capital Corporation are abandoning gas plants in favor of renewable energy projects. These solar and wind farms can now use energy storage systems to stash their power and unleash it as needed.
Batteries are like bacon, said Vibhu Kaushik, Southern California Edisons director of grid technology and modernization. They just make everything better.
http://theenergymix.com/2018/03/11/fossils-days-are-numbered-as-ferc-clears-batteries-to-compete-with-power-plants/