Brief
Wood Mackenzie says four‑hour batteries now beat gas turbines on cost
The consultancy’s report shows battery storage undercutting gas turbine power across 43 markets worldwide.
By Felo News Desk · Published
Wood Mackenzie’s latest survey finds that four‑hour battery storage is now cheaper than open‑cycle natural‑gas turbines in every market it examined, covering all continents and 43 regional markets.
The report, released on 9 October 2026, says batteries beat gas turbines on levelized cost of electricity and predicts the cost gap will widen as turbine prices rise and battery costs keep falling. Solar power also remains the cheapest new generation source in the same survey, though tariffs and import limits are pressuring prices in North America.
In the Middle East and Africa, the consultancy projects four‑hour batteries will be 33 % cheaper than gas turbines by 2035, displacing peaking gas plants. In China, battery costs are 55 % lower than in neighboring countries. Ahmed Jameel Abdullah, principal analyst at Wood Mackenzie, called the shift “decisive and widening” in a press release.
Wood Mackenzie notes that open‑cycle turbines, favored by AI‑driven data‑center developers, face long lead times of two to four years, while closed‑cycle turbine backlogs extend into the early 2030s, further inflating prices for new natural‑gas power plants.
Key facts
- Four‑hour battery storage is cheaper than open‑cycle gas turbines in all 43 markets surveyed. (techcrunch.com)
- Solar remains the cheapest new power source in every market in the Wood Mackenzie survey. (techcrunch.com)
- In the Middle East and Africa, batteries are projected to be 33% cheaper than gas turbines by 2035. (techcrunch.com)
- Ahmed Jameel Abdullah described the cost shift as "decisive and widening." (techcrunch.com)
Sources
- [1] techcrunch.com — originally reported as “Batteries are now cheaper than natural gas turbines used at many data centers”
