The majority of negative (to battery usage) comments show interesting patterns:
A) Did not look at the chart nor read the article
B) use pre conceived framework to “fit” tidbit of data from the article into a different narrative
C) plainly dismiss these data as a political/religious argument
Well, let me help you out: there is no political force at work in Texas for the shift to solar plus batteries: simple economic of an unregulated market.
As a matter of fact, Texas embracing of solar plus batteries is happening at a rate faster than California, specifically because Texas lets the market doing its things. There are no incentives nor regulatory preferences for any tech.
Then look at China. Do you think China has a religious or green political agenda? Nope. Their goals are very straight forward: they want to increase FIVE times the energy consumption per capita in 10 years. They need a lot of energy and they will use whatever they can, including coal, a staggering 75 new coal production plants but… they know how to do math and they already know that the lifespan of these plant will not go beyond 15 years and they are already planning for their replacement with a more economic alternative…. Batteries!
We can go on and on, looking at specific cases where an immediate transition does not make sense, I am with you, the world is a big place.
I just wish you stop fighting the second principle. It rewards more efficient solutions when they become the most economical.
Capex and sourcing was favorable to fossil fuels until this year, on global scale, now it is no longer. Pockets of favorable conditions still remain, but they are pockets, destined to shrink.
There is no political nor religion nor conspiracy at play here. Just the hard numbers of economics at play in two markets that are immune to these sways, Texas and China.
Failing to appreciate it is understandable, the article is about a really bad example of California where political pressure has intermingled with economical decisions for way too long and way too deep. Just dig a little more in the article would help. Looking at what the operators are doing is even better. Understanding the engineering behind electrical grids is almost optimal. Researching geopolitical motivations and strategic goals is perfect. Or simply observe nature and learn about the second principle.
