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California just hit an inflection point for batteries

Fast Company Tech Adele Peters April 3, 2026
California just hit an inflection point for batteries
AI Summary— plain English for professionals

# California's Battery Breakthrough: What It Means for You California just hit a major milestone when batteries powered nearly half the state's electricity grid on a single evening—a dramatic shift that happened almost entirely in the last five years as battery and solar costs plummeted. These batteries essentially act like a giant piggy bank, storing extra solar energy generated during sunny afternoons and releasing it during peak evening hours when people need it most, which means California no longer has to rely as heavily on expensive backup power plants or electricity imports from other states. For everyday people, this matters because it could eventually mean more stable electricity prices and a faster transition away from fossil fuels—all driven by technology that's finally become cheap enough to scale.

A few days ago, the electric grid in California hit a new milestone: At 7pm on March 29, batteries provided 12.3 gigawatts of power—roughly as much as six Hoover Dams, or around 43% of the total demand on the grid. Nearly all of that battery storage was built in the last five years. “Until 2020 o

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