But the point is that wind and solar are getting cheaper. Battery storage is being added to extend their usage when the sun doesn't shine and the wind doesn't blow.
The more wind and solar assets that come online reduces the time that natgas power plant is used which of course drives up the cost for those plants. Which means utility companies will bring on more wind and solar.
The other problem with natgas is that just like any commodity, it goes thru price swings. When it's cheap the fracking companies go chapter. When it gets expensive the utility companies buy more wind and solar.
The key issues with wind and solar are battery storage and transmission lines. Texas has been able to get to 20% their electricity from wind because of the transmission lines they built from West Texas to Dallas/Ft Worth area.
RE: battery storage
Elon Musk during earning call on Oct 21
Tesla has reported a huge increase in demand and installations for its energy storage products – both at grid scale and in the home – but has lamented the lack of battery cells that is causing backlogs of energy storage orders and is even inhibiting the roll out of other products such as the Tesla Semi, its electric truck.
“We just need more cells,” Musk said in an earnings call with analysts, after yet another record breaking quarterly profit and record cash flows, and where Tesla confidently predicted it would reach its original forecast of half a million electric vehicle delivers, despite the hold-ups caused by Covid-19 shutdowns.
The production of new battery cells, however, is emerging as a major issue. Tesla reported backlogs in its battery storage products, particularly for Tesla Powerwalls, and Musk said that the roll-out of the Tesla Semi, the electric truck, which will have very big batteries – up to 1MWh, compared to 50kWh for the Model 3 SR+ – is also being held up.
At the recent Battery Day, Tesla unveiled several new developments in battery design and technology, but also put out a call to the mining industry to ensure that the supply of battery materials was enough to meet storage demand, particularly as Tesla rolls out more Gigafactories and aims to produce 20 million vehicles by 2030..
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Johnson said large scale solar plus storage is now more cost effective than traditional fossil fuel generation in many locations across the globe. “This trend will continue as we remove costs, which will further displace existing and new fossil fuel generation. This is true for standalone storage as well.”
https://reneweconomy.com.au/we-just-need-more-cells-musk-laments-lack-of-battery-capacity-37003/
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