Source: Hackaday
As solar and wind capacity outpaces grid stability needs, thermal storage—using massive tanks of molten salt, hot water, or other fluids to store and release energy on demand—is moving from niche R&D into commercial deployment by utilities like NextEra and developers like Ørsted. Storage costs have fallen 89% since 2010, making 8-12 hour discharge systems competitive with batteries for day-ahead shifting rather than just peak shaving. Grid operators can now decouple renewable generation timing from consumption patterns. This solves the mechanical constraint that has prevented California and Texas from simply adding more panels. The next decade of grid investment will resemble 1970s-style infrastructure buildout more than software scaling.