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Giant batteries are transforming the way the U.S. uses electricity

They’re delivering solar power after dark in California and helping to stabilize grids in other states. And the technology is expanding rapidly.

As batteries have proliferated, power companies are using them in novel ways, such as handling big swings in electricity generation from solar and wind farms, reducing congestion on transmission lines and helping to prevent blackouts during scorching heat waves. In California, government mandates were the impetus: In 2019, regulators worried that too many older gas plants were closing, risking blackouts, and ordered utilities to quickly install thousands of megawatts of storage. “We have reached the conclusion that batteries are displacing natural gas when solar generation is ramping up and down each day,” said Max Kanter, chief executive of Grid Status, an electricity data tracking firm.

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