{"id":34634,"date":"2019-11-04T13:13:53","date_gmt":"2019-11-04T02:43:53","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/?p=34634"},"modified":"2024-05-15T13:01:16","modified_gmt":"2024-05-15T03:31:16","slug":"game-over-for-gas","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/game-over-for-gas\/","title":{"rendered":"Rocky Mountain Institute: “Game Over” For Gas Closer Than You Think"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Gas

Does the rapid pace of battery technology mean game over for gas will be sooner than expected?<\/p><\/div>\n

Governments\u2019 flailing support for fossil fuels was handed another card marked \u201care you nuts?\u201d last week, with the Rocky Mountain Institute releasing a report saying renewables plus batteries are already cheaper than new gas plants, and will be cheaper than existing gas plants in the mid-2020s.<\/p>\n

Regulators and policy-makers almost certainly haven\u2019t kept up with the pace of change, the Institute\u2019s Breakthrough Batteries: Powering the Era of Clean Electrification report claimed.<\/p>\n

The cost of energy storage is falling so fast, it\u2019s going to disrupt utilities\u2019 \u201cconventional assumptions\u201d about grid architecture.<\/p>\n

\u201cUtilities and their regulators must build scenarios based on forward price curves to assess the possible implications of falling prices for batteries and renewable power in order to minimise the risks of investing in assets that could soon be stranded.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

The Institute reckons big players in the power market have been blindsided by the way battery costs are plummeting, and by the accelerating development of new energy storage technologies.<\/p>\n

The fast pace of battery adoption is also going to increasingly push internal combustion engines off the road, the RMI paper said (linked at this media release<\/a>).<\/p>\n

The high points are pretty outstanding, to be honest: there was more than US$1.4 billion invested in battery technology in the first half of this year, and that\u2019s going to grow at a stunning rate.<\/p>\n

\u201cTotal manufacturing investment, both previous and planned until 2023, represents around $150 billion dollars, or close to $20 for every person in the world\u201d, the report stated, citing Bloomberg New Energy Finance data.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Lithium ion will keep its crown as the leading battery technology RMI says, with advances flowing both from R&D in the technology and improvements in manufacturing.<\/p>\n

Even now, with Li-ion storage costing over $US200 per kWh (page 76 of the report), RMI says renewable-plus-battery builds are \u201ccontributing to cancellations of planned natural gas power generation\u201d.<\/p>\n

Gas will become a stranded asset very rapidly if RMI is right, because by 2025 it expects Li-ion costs to fall to $US87\/kWh.<\/p>\n

\u201cNatural gas plants that move forward are at high risk of becoming stranded assets, and as early as 2021, some existing power plants could be more expensive to continue operating than least-cost CEP (clean energy portfolio) alternatives\u201d, the report said.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Disruptive Chemistry<\/h2>\n

While the report puts Li-ion in the box seat, other technologies will have their place:<\/p>\n

\u201cSolid-state batteries such as rechargeable zinc alkaline, Li-metal, and Li-sulfur will help electrify. Dramatically lower storage costs will disrupt conventional assumptions about optimal grid architectures and open a rapidly widening array of opportunities for delivering energy services. Utilities and their regulators must build scenarios based on forward price curves to assess the possible implications of falling prices for batteries and renewable power in order to minimize the risks of investing in assets that could soon be stranded.”<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cLow-cost and long-duration batteries such as zinc-based, flow, and high-temperature technologies will be well suited to provide grid balancing in a high-renewable and EV future.”<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cHigh-power batteries, which are best compared on a $\/kW basis, are well positioned to enable high penetration and fast charging of EVs<\/a>.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

EVs Also Winners<\/h2>\n

The electric vehicle market is going to experience a similar disruption (the sooner the better!), both from Li-ion developments as well as new chemistries.<\/p>\n

RMI believes India is set to race ahead in EV adoption because its market is skewed towards smaller (and even three-wheeler) vehicles. That\u2019s already happening in some parts of the Indian market – this World Economic Forum article<\/a> outlines the electrification of India\u2019s vehicle fleet with government support, and taxi company Ola has a \u201cMission:Electric\u201d project to integrate 10,000 electric rickshaws into its fleet.<\/p>\n

The Institute believes there will be more EVs sold in 2025 worldwide than currently exist, with a corresponding jump in charging infrastructure to more than 10 million charging stations worldwide by 2030. The report also notes there\u2019s going to be a feedback loop into grid batteries, since batteries installed near EV charging stations will help mitigate any strain they might cause the grid.<\/p>\n

\"Batteries

EVs and batteries, a virtuous circle. Source: Rocky Mountain Institute, Breakthrough Batteries pg 43<\/p><\/div>\n

The report\u2019s assessment of important future technologies is below.<\/p>\n

\"New

RMI’s assessment of future battery chemistries. Image: Rocky Mountain Institute, Breakthrough Batteries, Page 31.<\/p><\/div>\n

If RMI is correct, then Australia\u2019s state and federal governments\u2019 enthusiastic embrace of fossil fuels has to end, because otherwise public finances will be shackled to stranded assets the rest of the energy market is going to ignore.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Governments\u2019 flailing support for fossil fuels was handed another card marked \u201care you nuts?\u201d last week, with the Rocky Mountain Institute releasing a report saying renewables plus batteries are already cheaper than new gas plants, and will be cheaper than existing gas plants in the mid-2020s.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":23,"featured_media":34696,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[551],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-34634","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-battery-storage","entry"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nRocky Mountain Institute: Batteries Will Soon Mean "Game Over" For Gas.<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Rocky Mountain Institute has looked at how quickly battery technnology is getting cheaper and more energy dense. 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With no coal-fired power generation remaining in the state, South Australia's peak loads are currently managed by open-cycle gas turbine (OCGT) plants. A joint research\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "General Solar & Storage News"","block_context":{"text":"General Solar & Storage News","link":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/category\/solar-battery-news\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Battery storage - South Australia","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/07\/sa-renewables-batteries.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/07\/sa-renewables-batteries.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/07\/sa-renewables-batteries.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/07\/sa-renewables-batteries.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":94547,"url":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/battery-rebate-to-deliver-a-coal-plant-of-power-in-18-months\/","url_meta":{"origin":34634,"position":1},"title":"Battery Rebate To Deliver A Coal Plant Of Power In 18 Months","author":"Max Opray","date":"September 23, 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"The federal battery rebate is set to play a crucial role in reaching Australia's new 2035 emissions target, with SolarQuotes analysis revealing that the power output of additional battery storage capacity installed under the scheme will soon match that of Australia's largest coal plant. How Much Storage Capacity Has The\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Battery Storage"","block_context":{"text":"Battery Storage","link":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/category\/battery-storage\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/coal-emissions-1.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/coal-emissions-1.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/coal-emissions-1.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/coal-emissions-1.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/coal-emissions-1.jpg?resize=1050%2C600&ssl=1 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":49083,"url":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/community-solar-batteries-mb1944\/","url_meta":{"origin":34634,"position":2},"title":"Community Batteries: Power To The People","author":"Michael Bloch","date":"April 6, 2021","format":false,"excerpt":"There's been a lot of chatter about community batteries recently - here's a brief overview of what they are, how they work and some of their benefits. Home battery storage is still costly and likely will still be for some time. An alternative is the community battery concept, which can\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "General Solar & Storage News"","block_context":{"text":"General Solar & Storage News","link":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/category\/solar-battery-news\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Community batteries overview","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/community-batteries.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/community-batteries.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/community-batteries.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/community-batteries.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/community-batteries.jpg?resize=1050%2C600&ssl=1 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":57307,"url":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/big-batteries-arena-mb2288\/","url_meta":{"origin":34634,"position":3},"title":"Big Bucks For Big Batteries In Australia","author":"Michael Bloch","date":"December 27, 2021","format":false,"excerpt":"The Australian Renewable Energy Agency (ARENA) has announced a $100 million competitive funding round for grid scale batteries. Expressions of interest will open in February for the round, which will fund at least three projects. The EOI process will close on 31 March 2022, and those who get a guernsey\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "General Solar & Storage News"","block_context":{"text":"General Solar & Storage News","link":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/category\/solar-battery-news\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Grid scale battery funding - ARENA","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/12\/big-batteries-advanced-inverters.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/12\/big-batteries-advanced-inverters.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/12\/big-batteries-advanced-inverters.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/12\/big-batteries-advanced-inverters.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/12\/big-batteries-advanced-inverters.jpg?resize=1050%2C600&ssl=1 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":14768,"url":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/usa-utility-energy-storage-mb0195\/","url_meta":{"origin":34634,"position":4},"title":"U.S. Utility Energy Storage Snapshot Report","author":"Michael Bloch","date":"September 6, 2017","format":false,"excerpt":"Energy storage in the USA is a small but growing market according to SEPA's 2017 Utility Energy Storage Market Snapshot - and many utilities have residential customers in their sights. The new publication from the Smart Electric Power Alliance details results from information submitted by 115 utilities; representing around 58\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "General Solar & Storage News"","block_context":{"text":"General Solar & Storage News","link":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/category\/solar-battery-news\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Energy Storage - USA","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/09\/energy-storage-usa.png?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/09\/energy-storage-usa.png?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/09\/energy-storage-usa.png?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/09\/energy-storage-usa.png?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":93106,"url":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/home-energy-efficiency-report-mb3221\/","url_meta":{"origin":34634,"position":5},"title":"Call For A National Energy Efficiency Rebate Scheme","author":"Michael Bloch","date":"July 9, 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"Policy debate in Australia concerned with addressing rising energy costs has largely centred on the wrong solutions says a new report - the focus should be on homes, not power plants. While solar power has put downward pressure on electricity prices, this has been offset by increases in gas and\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "General Solar & Storage News"","block_context":{"text":"General Solar & Storage News","link":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/category\/solar-battery-news\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Home solar installations in an Australian suburb","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/australian-homes-solar.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/australian-homes-solar.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/australian-homes-solar.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/australian-homes-solar.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/australian-homes-solar.jpg?resize=1050%2C600&ssl=1 3x"},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/34634","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/23"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=34634"}],"version-history":[{"count":12,"href":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/34634\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":83563,"href":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/34634\/revisions\/83563"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/34696"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=34634"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=34634"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=34634"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}