Hyperdrive

The Battery Will Kill Fossil Fuels—It's Only a Matter of Time

  • Regulators are opening doors for energy storage to compete
  • Oil companies are already forecasting impact of electric cars

Why Electric Cars Aren't Taking Over Yet

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Three weeks ago, a U.S. agency sent the clearest signal yet that fossil fuels’ days are numbered.

True enough, the carbon-burning economy has been declared to be on its death bed umpteenth times before. But this came with a time frame related to the ultimate killer: the battery. The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission ruled that so-called energy-storage companies such as Tesla Inc. and AES Corp. can compete against traditional power plants in U.S. wholesale markets by the end of 2020.