The state’s solar plants, for example, often pump out more electricity at midday than the grid needs. California still relies on natural gas power plants to supply electricity in the morning and evening, as the sun sets. But low wholesale electricity prices, caused in part by that daily flood of solar production, are making many of them uneconomical to run.
“There really isn’t a technology that’s cost-effective that can replace them right now — period,” said Jan Smutny-Jones, chief executive officer of the Independent Energy Producers Association.
His trade group represents companies that operate conventional power plants as well as owners of solar and wind facilities. Smutny-Jones worries that natural gas plants in the state may be forced out of business while the state still needs them. Many clean-power advocates hope advanced batteries will replace those plants, but that isn’t possible yet, he said.
“I’m a big believer in batteries, but there’s a danger in overhyping what they can do and how fast they can do it,” Smutny-Jones said. “If this was an easy problem, it would have been solved by now.”
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