[bsder]

> If gas plants can be replaced by something cheaper then they will be. If gas plants make economic sense, they will be built.

Eventually, the system will land in a semi-stable equilibrium. Getting there may be quite painful, though.

Capitalism is NOT an inherently stable system when the time scales of production and consumption have a mismatch. Look at farming and the feast/famine cycles it goes through. Practically all "developed" countries stabilize their agricultural sector, somehow, precisely for this reason.

Capitalism will happily take plants offline faster than new investment can replace. The grid needs a certain amount of base production or it becomes unreliable--which defeats the whole point of a "grid" in the first place.

Batteries are not enough by themselves. You need a combination of batteries, solar, HVDC links over larger areas (to give you diversity to ride out weather), gas plants, and nuclear plants. Many of these will be unprofitable to build but are necessary.