California · blackout · batteries
California's electricity regime accelerates renewables and batteries
1 November 2020 · First published in Capital · Original in Capital →
In brief
Reading the preliminary CAISO/CPUC/CEC report on California's August 2020 rolling blackouts, the author shows the cause was not renewables but planning for extreme heat, missing evening capacity and day-ahead market practices; two gas plants failed at the critical moment. His conclusion: the processes are manageable, batteries will accelerate, and "baseload" is not even mentioned in the report.