Can Massachusetts affordably replace fossil-fuel peakers for a cheaper combustion-free grid by 2050? (Utility Dive)
A report prepared for the Massachusetts Clean Peak Coalition argues the state's most cost-effective 2050 peak grid—when factoring in health and climate costs—relies on 6.4 GW of wind, 6.9 GW of storage (mostly multi-day), and 4.2 GW of demand response.
Driven by the electrification of heating and cars, the state is projected to flip to a winter-peaking system by the mid-2030s. Currently, regional market designs favor keeping aging thermal plants online rather than incentivizing storage to survive long, sunless cold snaps.
Regional power producers argue the current environment demands "energy addition, not retirement." Pointing to the recent weeks-long freeze, they say the New England grid only survived because rarely used, high-emitting oil plants had to run nonstop for weeks to meet the surging demand.