Despite impressive cost declines, grid-scale battery storage is not in a position to replace gas-fired peaking power plants in the US, and may not be for a long time in some places, says Ben Fowke, chief executive of Xcel Energy, the US investor-owned utility.

“Right now … batteries in our relatively low-cost jurisdictions don’t compete economically,” Fowke says.

“Will they ever be the new peaker? I think there are going to be grid-system reliability limitations on how much of that could happen,” he says.