No other energy source has seen more rapid growth in the United States over the past half a decade than solar power. But soaring solar installations have begun to distort the power distribution and transmission systems in the top solar-producing states such as California, creating challenges for utilities and the grid. Battery storage could help alleviate these challenges, and although it is also surging, it is still lagging behind solar capacity additions.
California has nearly 47 gigawatts GW of solar power installed that could supply a quarter of the state’s electricity if it could operate 24/7 and on-demand as traditional sources, including coal, natural gas, and nuclear power do, IER analysts wrote in a commentary last week. The ‘wasted’ solar power output and insufficient battery storage are raising electricity prices in the state, according to the institute.