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mypalmike • today at 7:01 PM • 5 replies • view on HN

Meanwhile the US is doubling down on fossil fuels because… reasons.


Replies

thechao • today at 8:30 PM

I don't know about other states, but Texas has about 18GW of BESS, already (https://www.cleanview.co/power-projects/operating/battery-st...). We're planning another ~177GW (https://www.ercot.com/files/docs/2026/04/16/ERCOT-Monthly-Op...).

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kieranmaine • today at 7:10 PM

The BESS market is doing OK in the US. Politicians will come and go but the fundamentals of BESS are solid, so I don't see why the installed base won't keep increasing in the US.

Battery storage capacity averaged 70% growth over the last three years - https://www.eia.gov/todayinenergy/detail.php?id=67925

> During the first six months of 2026, operators added another 8.3 GW of battery storage capacity, reaching nearly 52 GW of nameplate battery storage capacity

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Rebelgecko • today at 7:47 PM

YMMV depending on where in the US you are. California has like 10x'd it's battery storage in a couple years, to the point where it's the main source of electricity during some time slots where we used to be dependent on natty gas.

Edit: although it looks like in recent days, fossil fuels reign supreme once the sun goes down. I guess we don't have enough batteries for the current heat wave

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iknowstuff • today at 7:45 PM

We have one of the world's largest BESS installations in California. Calm down.

burnte • today at 7:40 PM

Not really. The market is still moving quickly towards renewables. It's only some conservative politicians in the US that are making noise about fossil fuels, not the market.

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