ENERGY MANAGEMENT & SUSTAINABILITY
STORING ENERGY: IN IT FOR THE LONG-HAUL
When investing in renewable technologies such as energy storage, it’s important to think about longevity and sustainability, says Carlton Cummins, CTO and Co-founder of pioneering clean technology firm Aceleron.
Thanks to soaring energy costs and the extreme seriousness of the climate emergency, the transition to renewable energy is undeniably here. This means that battery energy storage systems (BESS) - and other renewable technologies - are firmly in the spotlight.
It is absolutely essential, therefore, that the technologies we come to depend on will be sustainable and built to last - first and foremost to reduce the impact on the environment but also, because replacing large-scale energy storage entirely will be an extremely costly and wasteful process.
In fact, battery waste across the board is going to become an increasingly serious concern - if it isn’t already. The majority are made using raw materials that the Earth has a finite amount of, so making sure that we get maximum use before recycling or safely disposing of them is critical from a sustainability point of view.
In the FM industry - as with all of us, improving on our environmental, social and governance (ESG) performance is proving to go beyond compliance to improving an organisation’s competitive edge; attracting investment, new customers and a talented workforce. BESS has a contributing role to play in improving a building’s ESG performance by providing a reliable, sustainable and cost effective power source.
BESS: Key benefits for FMs Energy storage helps to stretch solar energy into the night and capture wind energy for when we need to use it. In other words, matching the natural supply with our human demand. This makes it useful for buildings in a variety of ways:
Expanding operational capacity
There are times when a building will need to draw a lot of power at once - for running high power machinery or recharging a fleet of electric vehicles for instance - and this can result in requiring extra grid capacity which may not be readily available.
Battery storage allows power to be unlocked faster than a typical grid can deploy, meaning that electric vehicles can recharge and go quickly and efficiently - or using high power machinery will not mean compromising on power use in other areas.
Recouping costs
Connecting a BESS to renewable technology such as solar as well as to the grid creates a super flexible system that
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guarantees plenty of power. Any excess stored renewable energy can be sold back onto the grid, recouping costs for the running of the building and helping to decarbonise the grid at the same time - and contributing to ESG.
Additionally, when using a general - or green tariff, charging the batteries during off-peak hours (usually between 10pm and 8am) and using battery power during peak hours will result in a huge reduction in a building’s electricity bills.
Providing cleaner backup power
Traditionally, backup power is supplied by diesel generators - harmful to the environment and costly to run, repair and replace. Battery technology has advanced to the point where diesel generators will soon become a thing of the past, providing a reliable, clean power source. Most BESS products have the added advantage of being monitored and controlled remotely, making them smart as well as more sustainable.
Finding a dependable, long-life energy storage solution Currently, the most widely referenced battery materials sit within the Lithium-ion family. Lithium iron phosphate (LFP) has no cobalt - which comes with geopolitical concerns and a hefty price tag. It is amongst the least volatile, with the highest safety ratings and is also popular for renewable energy storage on account of its longer lifespan - particularly for stationary applications.
There has been a lot of interest in recent years in pushing the boundaries of LFP and this has resulted in a gradual improvement in energy density that should continue to improve over time.
This gradual improvement in energy density is worth bearing in mind when searching for the right energy storage solution for a larger application. There are serviceable, repairable and upgradeable battery technologies available, where individual parts can be removed independently for repair or to be replaced with a newer, more energy-dense material as technology evolves over time. Replaced parts that still have use can be repurposed into other products, creating a circular economy - the gold standard of sustainability.
Meanwhile, the service and upgradability of such a system works to extend its lifespan, reducing the total cost of ownership and retaining its usefulness as energy storage technology improves. This combination of clean energy
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