Comment by conradev
2 days ago
If by "we" you mean California, then "we" are going to pass the following milestones with solar + batteries fairly soon:
- Solar and storage is cheaper than building a new natural gas peaker plant in most locales (current majority of generation)
- Dispatching battery plants becomes cheaper than turning on existing peaker plants. Fuel is free, dispatch is instant, they can add inertia.
If by "we" you mean the rest of the world, China is manufacturing and installing the most renewable energy of any country in the world by far – and it's not enough to meet their demand. That's why they're also deploying more coal and nuclear than anyone else, too! They're probably building more electric vehicles than any other country, too, which is huge for their air quality.
You are a bit behind on China. This was just published a week ago, showing renewable energy build-out has finally surpassed increased demand for this year, meaning peak coal was probably last year: https://ember-energy.org/latest-insights/solar-brics-emergin... (at end of the article).
That’s great news! Does that include the coal plants they’re funding in Indonesia and other places?
The Chinese funded coal plants in Pakistan are being priced out by Chinese solar panels imported by end users.
Will be an interesting one to watch as to how China responds.