Capital · United States

4-hour storage cheaper than gas peakers across global markets: WoodMac

Credited to Utility Dive · utilitydive.com · 23h ago

In North America, data centers are boosting the long-term investment case for energy storage and renewables as gas turbine backlogs and rising fuel volatility drive up peaking costs, a report says.

The levelized cost of electricity for four-hour battery storage is now cheaper than gas peakers in markets across the globe, according to a Wood Mackenzie analysis published Thursday.

In North America, investment in gas generation capacity is entering “a supply deficit cycle through the late 2030s,” the firm said, “driven by data centre load growth, a dynamic that keeps thermal capital costs elevated and reinforces the long-term economic case for renewables and storage.”

Gas turbine prices are projected to rise to $600/kW by the end of 2027, a 195% increase since 2019, Wood Mackenzie said in April. The three major gas turbine manufacturers — GE Vernova, Siemens Energy and Mitsubishi — each have backlogs ranging from 35 GW to 116 GW as they plan capacity expansions.

While Wood Mackenzie did not publish exact prices, a spokesperson told Utility Dive in an email that in the United States for a 2026 commercial operation date, 4-hour battery storage is 65% to 75% cheaper than new open-cycle gas turbine peakers, depending on whether state-level carbon pricing applies.

“This economic shift is decisive and widening,” Ahmed Jameel Abdullah, principal analyst at Wood Mackenzie, said in a statement. “Gas turbine shortages and rising fuel volatility are driving up peaking costs, while expanding battery manufacturing continues to push storage costs down.”

He added that a similar trend is reshaping baseload economics, too. “Single-axis tracker solar is now the lowest-cost new-build technology in 43 of 48 modeled markets, with onshore wind leading in five. In the most competitive markets, Saudi Arabia and the UAE, solar LCOE is on track to fall below US$20/MWh by 2033,” the report said.

In the Middle East and Africa, four-hour storage is forecast to fall 33% to $80/MWh by 2035, according to the report, “displacing gas peaking on cost across every gas market in the region.”

China remains the global storage cost benchmark at more than 55% below the rest of the Asia Pacific average, “illustrating how manufacturing scale is redrawing the global cost map,” the firm said.

In North America, the research firm noted near-term solar costs are being pressured by tariffs, anti-dumping and countervailing duty actions, and new import restrictions. Distributed solar is seeing the most significant price increases, while utility-scale solar is partially protected by 168 GW of safe-harbored capacity, “though module prices are still expected to rise around 5% annually through 2030.”

“Residential and commercial projects face a more constrained environment, with module prices forecast to increase 6% in 2027 and a further 14% in 2028,” WoodMac analysts said. “For onshore wind, continuous capex and opex improvements are expected to drive LCOE down 16% by 2060, despite near-term uncertainty from policy changes and potential Section 232 impacts on turbine pricing.”

For energy storage, tax credits “continue to provide a competitive advantage” by “partially counteracting the impact of foreign entity of concern restrictions and supply chain constraints,” the firm said. “A cost spike is anticipated following the phase-out of the investment tax credits from 2038, but over the long-term new battery chemistries, hardware commoditisation and domestic supply chain expansion are expected to drive storage LCOE down 10% by 2060.”

SK Eternix, Mastern to Develop Fuel Cell-Powered Data Center

Credited to TheElec · thelec.netJust now

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SK Eternix and Mastern Investment Management will develop a fuel cell-linked data center. The companies will flesh out the business model and assess its technical and economic feasibility.

SK Eternix said Oct. 8 it signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with alternative investment-focused asset manager Mastern Investment Management on Oct. 7.

The MOU was signed to develop a hyperscale artificial intelligence (AI) data center powered by fuel-cell generation facilities.

The companies will jointly pursue an independent, or off-grid, data center model in which fuel-cell generation facilities installed on the site directly supply electricity to the data center.

Fuel cells can be installed at high density even on limited sites. Their relatively short construction periods can reduce delays in securing power caused by the expansion of large-scale transmission networks. They have recently drawn attention as a power source for data centers, where electricity demand is surging with the spread of AI.

SK Eternix will oversee the supply of fuel-cell power. It will handle the entire process, from the engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) of generation facilities to establishing the power-supply structure and managing operations and maintenance.

Mastern Investment Management will oversee the overall development project. Its responsibilities will include securing data center sites and permits, reviewing development scale, design, establishing the investment structure, raising funds and attracting tenants.

Original · TheElec

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Capital · United States

Iran's supreme leader calls for greater use of AI to strengthen security

Credited to The National · thenationalnews.com · 4h ago

Photograph · The National

Iran's supreme leader Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei has called for greater investment in artificial intelligence and advanced technology to strengthen the country's security forces.

In a message marking National Police Week, he said Iran needed to bolster its police force through improvements in personnel, equipment and technology, particularly the use of AI in data analysis.

"A comprehensive strengthening of the forces responsible for safeguarding security in all respects, including human resources, hardware and software – particularly through the advancement of technology, such as the purposeful use of artificial intelligence in data analysis – plays an important role in improving the ability of the police force to carry out their missions and facilitates their work," he said.

Mr Khamenei also praised the country's security forces for maintaining order despite repeated US and Israeli attacks. He accused the US and Israel of deliberately targeting police commanders and personnel, but said the attacks had failed to undermine the ability of security forces to carry out their missions.

The National revealed late last year that Iran planned to use AI in its armed forces and security apparatus – nearly three months before the US and Israel launched strikes on Iran in late February, sparking the regional war.

Despite restrictions on its access to advanced AI chips owing to sanctions, Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps said last year during military exercises that it was using AI in domestically developed drones, including in missiles capable of autonomously locking on to moving targets.

The announcement highlighted Tehran's determination to keep pace with the global AI race. Under an official strategy, Iran aims to rank among the world's top 10 AI powers by 2032, with AI contributing 12 per cent of its GDP.

The push to integrate AI into Iran's defence systems accelerated after its first direct military confrontation with Israel in 2024. In April, Brig Gen Kioumars Heydari, commander of the army’s ground forces at the time and now deputy chief of staff, described AI as "one of our priorities to maximise our defensive power”.

The US has also used AI in its war against Iran. In March, Admiral Brad Cooper, commander of US Central Command, said AI systems “allow us to analyse large volumes of data within seconds, enabling our leaders to make the right decisions faster than the enemy amid the noise”.

He said advanced AI tools had reduced processes that would typically take hours, and sometimes days, to mere seconds. “However, the final decision is always made by a human: what to strike, what not to strike, and when to strike,” he added.

But the US bombing of an elementary school in Minab, southern Iran, on the first day of the war – an attack that killed more than 150 people, many of them schoolgirls – raised questions about AI's role in military operations.

A September report by Bloomberg said an overreliance on AI tools, alongside outdated intelligence and imagery, contributed to the strike. The full findings of a Pentagon investigation into the attack have not yet been made public.