Wood Mackenzie Finds Four-Hour Storage Has Lower Peak-Resource LCOE Than Open-Cycle Gas Turbines in 43 Markets
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Wood Mackenzie reported that four-hour battery energy storage has a lower levelised cost of electricity than open-cycle gas turbines for peak-demand applications across all 43 markets it assessed. The finding strengthens the case for storage in short-duration peak management and reserve applications as AI data-center load grows and gas-turbine supply remains constrained.
- Wood Mackenzie found four-hour storage had lower peak-resource LCOE than open-cycle gas turbines in all 43 assessed markets.
- The comparison concerns peak-demand service, not continuous autonomous power for a data-center campus.
- Storage may gain relevance for peak shaving, reserve and grid optimisation as AI-related load grows.
- Enverus estimates the US could add about 29.6 GW of customer-sited gas generation by 2030, with data centers representing roughly 88% of demand.
- Battery and gas-generation economics remain application- and grid-dependent.
Wood Mackenzie has concluded that four-hour battery energy storage systems have a lower LCOE than open-cycle gas turbines when deployed as peak-demand resources in each of the 43 markets included in its assessment. The coverage spans Europe, North and Latin America, Asia-Pacific, the Middle East and Africa.
The result is relevant to data-center operators and developers facing rising AI-driven load growth, constraints in gas-turbine availability and longer delivery timelines. In this setting, battery storage could be considered more frequently for short-duration peak shaving, reserve capacity and optimisation of a facility’s interaction with the grid, rather than as a like-for-like substitute for on-site gas generation.
The analysis compares the LCOE of peak resources, not equipment purchase or installation costs. That distinction is material for data-center power planning: a four-hour battery system requires prior charging and cannot independently sustain continuous, round-the-clock supply. Open-cycle gas turbines and battery storage therefore address overlapping but not identical reliability and operating requirements.
Wood Mackenzie put the cost of four-hour storage in the Middle East and Africa at about US$120/MWh in 2026 and projected approximately US$80/MWh by 2035, a projected decline of 33%. China was identified as the lowest-cost market globally for grid-scale storage, with baseline costs more than 55% below the average across other Asia-Pacific markets. The average cost cited for other Asia-Pacific markets was US$134/MWh.
The storage economics do not eliminate the expected role of gas generation in data-center power supply. Enverus Intelligence Research, as cited by Reuters, estimates that the United States could add about 29.6 GW of customer-sited gas generation by 2030, with data centers accounting for roughly 88% of demand. This suggests that batteries and continuously operating gas assets will continue to serve different parts of the data-center power stack.
For new data-center developments, the findings could shift the evaluation of peak and backup architectures, particularly where turbine procurement is constrained. But the economics of storage remain sensitive to charging-power prices, cycling frequency, storage duration and local grid conditions; site-specific design and interconnection requirements remain decisive.
For data-center power strategies, batteries could increasingly be evaluated in place of some new gas peaking capacity for short-duration demand management, reserve provision and grid interaction. The comparison is not a finding that storage can replace continuous gas-fired supply: batteries must be charged and do not provide standalone, round-the-clock power to a data-center campus.
- — / 9 октября 2026 г. · КитайскийПервоисточник →
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