Batteries, offshore slash pricing this year under gas parity

A report from Bloomberg’s New Energy Finance (BNEF) out this week suggests that Lithium Ion batteries are finally down to the pricing levels that could see them used far more often fronting a balanced mix of renewables. In other words the levelized cost of energy (LCOE) has fallen far enough that a sufficiently large (4 hour) battery alongside solar and wind resources, could make up virtual power plants, which could be connected directly to the grid. It’s not a revolutionary concept and the idea has been around for about 5 years, but the data which tracks the LCOE is valuable. BNEF says the LCOE for the batteries has come down 35% and sits currently at $187 per megawatt-hour since this…