Government Energy Policy, Business and Technology

How Giant Batteries Can Help Reduce Emissions

Stateline: In Southern California, where an extreme energy shortage has threatened for months to shut off power for millions of homeowners, an unconventional source of electricity is helping to keep the lights on: giant batteries.

Thousands of lithium-ion battery packs — the same kind of batteries that power smartphones and laptops — were installed in massive containers in a handful of spots on the grid earlier this year, from San Diego to Los Angeles. The batteries are now helping power tens of thousands of households.

This kind of quick, mass installation of batteries wouldn’t have been possible in most places. But California had been preparing for years by requiring utilities to connect energy storage to the grid, and funding energy storage projects. Now, as the cost of batteries plummets, officials in other states are looking to follow California’s lead.

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