Comment on Why is coal and fossil fuels still used?
zxqwas@lemmy.world 1 day agoThey were still more expensive than fossil power on standby last time I looked.
Comment on Why is coal and fossil fuels still used?
zxqwas@lemmy.world 1 day agoThey were still more expensive than fossil power on standby last time I looked.
Greyghoster@aussie.zone 1 day ago
Lots being installed around Australia and are a lot cheaper than gas power generation for covering peaks.
zxqwas@lemmy.world 1 day ago
Can you show me the numbers?
The numbers I found unsubsidized gas is about USD0.5/kWh and battery is USD150 per kWh. This is a 10 minute search so the quality of those numbers are dubious, I’m prepared to have my mind changed.
exasperation@lemm.ee 1 day ago
Lazard is a pretty respected analyst for energy costs. Here’s their report from June 2024.
In the U.S., peaker gas plants that are only fired up between 5-20% of the time, the levelized cost of electricity (LCOE) is between $110 to $230 per MWh. The levelized cost of storage for utility scale 4-hour storage ranges from $124-$226 per MWh, after subsidies. Before subsidies, that 4-hour storage costs $170-$296.
Residential storage, on the other hand, doesn’t come close. That’s $882 to $1101 before subsidies, or $653 to $855 after subsidies.
So in other words, utility scale storage has dropped down to around the same price as gas peaker plants, in the U.S., after subsidies.