Spread of big batteries on power grid threatened

Power shift: A man climbs onto the roof of his home in Texas to service solar energy panels. Energy storage devices help integrate variable solar and wind power onto the grid in the United States. — AP

NEW YORK: President Donald Trump’s trade war is threatening to slow down a fast-growing technology that’s key to the clean-power transition and preventing blackouts – big batteries.

Energy storage devices large enough to feed the electric grid have been spreading across the United States, with deployments surging 33% last year.