The price of battery storage technology is dropping rapidly, according to a recent cost analysis from Lazard. The Levelized Cost of Storage (LCOS) for lithium-ion transmission-use batteries has fallen 24% since Lazard’s previous report a year ago. As a whole, storage costs are quickly approaching the costs of natural gas peaker plants.

Lazard expects storage costs to continue to fall, driven by decreases in capital expenditures. For example, Lazard projects that lithium-ion capital costs will fall ~40% over the next five years. These cost declines are expected to be a result of rapid manufacturing and engineering improvements in batteries. Overall, Lazard predicts that energy storage is well-suited to replace “a significant portion” of future natural gas peaking supply and to further integrate renewables into the grid. Read Lazard’s executive summary here and their full report here.

Read Lazard’s executive summary here and their full report here.