Unum
2024-08-28 04:10:43 UTC
https://arstechnica.com/science/2024/08/us-grid-adds-batteries-at-10x-the-rate-of-natural-gas-in-first-half-of-2024/
the US Energy Information Agency (EIA) has run the numbers on the first half
of the year and found that wind, solar, and batteries were each installed at a
pace that dwarfs new natural gas generators. And the gap is expected to get
dramatically larger before the year is over.
According to the EIA's numbers, about 20 GW of new capacity was added in the
first half of this year, and solar accounts for 60 percent of it. Over a third
of the solar additions occurred in just two states, Texas and Florida. There
were two projects that went live that were rated at over 600 MW of capacity,
one in Texas, the other in Nevada.
Next up is batteries: The US saw 4.2 additional gigawatts of battery capacity
during this period, meaning over 20 percent of the total new capacity.
(Batteries are treated as the equivalent of a generating source by the EIA
since they can dispatch electricity to the grid on demand, even if they can't
do so continuously.) Texas and California alone accounted for over 60 percent
of these additions; throw in Arizona and Nevada, and you're at 93 percent of
the installed capacity.
the US Energy Information Agency (EIA) has run the numbers on the first half
of the year and found that wind, solar, and batteries were each installed at a
pace that dwarfs new natural gas generators. And the gap is expected to get
dramatically larger before the year is over.
According to the EIA's numbers, about 20 GW of new capacity was added in the
first half of this year, and solar accounts for 60 percent of it. Over a third
of the solar additions occurred in just two states, Texas and Florida. There
were two projects that went live that were rated at over 600 MW of capacity,
one in Texas, the other in Nevada.
Next up is batteries: The US saw 4.2 additional gigawatts of battery capacity
during this period, meaning over 20 percent of the total new capacity.
(Batteries are treated as the equivalent of a generating source by the EIA
since they can dispatch electricity to the grid on demand, even if they can't
do so continuously.) Texas and California alone accounted for over 60 percent
of these additions; throw in Arizona and Nevada, and you're at 93 percent of
the installed capacity.