Why did renewables become so cheap so fast?

Re:Why did renewables become so cheap so fast? by epistasis on Wednesday December 02, 2020 @08:35PM (#25284205)

Using lithium ion batteries, that solar would cost $81-$140/MWh, which is pretty much the same price as coal (compare the final slide to the first slide):

https://www.lazard.com/perspective/lcoe2020

But batteries get cheaper every year, so check back in 2021 for even cheaper prices. Most observers expect lithium ion storage to be cheaper than natural gas within a decade. And when you amortize the nighttime storage costs with the cheap daytime solar, natural gas is barely holding on in some markets. If we had a carbon tax that came close to internalizing the externalities, I don't think NG would be running for much longer.

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Re:Why did renewables become so cheap so fast? by nl on Wednesday December 02, 2020 @10:50PM (#25285149)

With 4500km power transmission lines currently being planned[1], the key question is "1 am where?" That's about 3-4 hours of time difference if the cable was along a line of latitude which obviously reduces the required storage time.

[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Australia%E2%80%93ASEAN_Power_...

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