By Gavin Mooney
Gas peaker plants have traditionally been one of the workhorses supplying the evening peak in Texas, but batteries are now increasingly taking over that role.
The chart below shows average generation by hour of day in ERCOT, Texas' main grid. It compares the contribution of batteries and gas peaker plants between 2022 and 2025.
The shift has been rapid.
In 2022, batteries supplied just 7% of the combined battery and peaker generation.
In 2025, that figure had risen to 34%.
A few things stand out:
✅ Battery output is increasingly concentrated during the morning and evening peaks when there is no solar generation.
✅ Peaking gas generation remains important, but its share is steadily declining.
✅ Batteries are taking an increasingly large share of the generation traditionally supplied by gas peakers.
The change has accelerated as Texas has added more solar capacity, creating one of the more interesting second-order effects of the solar boom.
As solar floods the grid during the middle of the day, electricity prices often fall sharply. Batteries can charge during these low-price periods and discharge a few hours later when demand remains high but solar output is fading.
Texas has become one of the world's most attractive battery markets. Massive solar buildout, strong evening demand peaks and a market that rewards scarcity have created ideal conditions for battery storage.
Gas peakers are unlikely to disappear entirely. Batteries excel at covering short-duration peaks, but longer periods of high demand still favour dispatchable generation.
But batteries are increasingly performing the same role, and their share of that market continues to grow.
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