I have no idea whether 9GW of gas plants for peaking power is too much or too little, but in Italy the proverb says that asking the restaurant owner "how's your house wine?" is pointless.
It's hard to falsify the claim (and what's the point?), because for the decision to be rational we need to both know what the energy requirements are, what the price of gas and batteries are, how much we value the environment/diminished CO2 (and how much of it would be saved), etc.
Unless you mean the claim is "batteries can suffice", but without a price tag it's pretty uninteresting as a claim.
I priced out the cost of a solar roof and battery system recently after some long blackouts. The 30 year payback was something like -$3000. Total cost was half as much as my house and the system wouldn't have kept power on anyways for the 4+ days I was out of power. Meanwhile I can buy a natural gas or diesel backup generator for under $5000.
I REALLY want solar and battery to work for me because I love the technology. But the math never comes out right. Grid power is just too cheap where I live. Even the wind only options.
Also if you make an insurance claim against your house for hurricane damage the insurance company will require a gas generator be installed during the repairs if there was mold damage. They don’t allow solar + batteries to replace it either.
Might be worth looking at other vendors. It’s not as sleek, but installing a roof rack of high watt panels, a Fronius and a $10k battery should pay for itself before the warranty expires in many states when credits are factored.
Yeah, I tried a bunch of vendors, Tesla, Panasonic, and even signed up with a broker to scan for deals. They all came back negative. I'm paying like $0.11/kwh right now so there is no way.
Instead I'm going to scratch my solar/battery itch with my new office trailer setup.
Gotcha. That’s a bummer. I pay $0.12 but our SRECs are pretty good. Six years to pay off a 10kw installation, 12-16 years with battery added depending on size. However, I went with the Toyota Camry of panels and inverter to make it financially viable; I have neighbors who paid 2.5x what I did and will probably not break even.
That isn't at all what the article is talking about. It's talking about using battery farms to provide support to the electric grid for transient spikes in demand, a role that is more traditionally served by hydro-electric generators and natural gas. Using batteries to support the grid allows grid operators to reduce costs that arise from having to pay for standby capacity, as the batteries can supply power while generation capacity that is slower to respond comes online. It's not a panacea for grid operators by any means, but it's definitely a useful tool to have at hand.
I have no idea whether 9GW of gas plants for peaking power is too much or too little, but in Italy the proverb says that asking the restaurant owner "how's your house wine?" is pointless.