Will energy storage replace peaker plants? Economics and opportunity in the US

Perhaps the greatest near-term promise for energy storage is its ability to shave system peaks, which are typically infrequent and short in duration, but currently are served by costly peaking generators. Much of what has driven recent contracts signed for storage or renewables-plus-storage projects have been driven by the need to have batteries discharge onto the grid during peaking hours. In this study, we set out to address whether batteries will be sufficient to meet the grid’s future needs.