BATTERY ENERGY STORAGE SYSTEMS
BESS: Meeting sustainability ambitions
of businesses have already adopted solar PV, with more than 30% either trialling or intending to adopt battery storage before 2028.
There is a clear rationale for combined investment:
Grid constraints, rising energy costs, intermittent renewables. Alexandra Kuncewicz, business
development manager from Powerstar, explains how Battery Energy Storage Systems (BESS) can help companies overcome some of the main issues
T
he UK’s ageing energy infrastructure is a well- documented issue, hampering the aim of net
zero by 2050. As industry becomes increasingly electrified, the problem impacts business – especially where companies’ growth and innovation is limited by their grid capacity. Automation is critical for British manufacturing to
remain competitive but it can require greater energy demand. In a recent report on energy trends, 44% of British and Irish businesses said that supplier and infrastructure limitations are a major hurdle. Where businesses consider increasing their site
energy capacity to meet growth ambitions or to incorporate more sustainable practices – EV charging being a case in point – they can face lengthy bottlenecks. As NESO has admitted, the volume of new connection applications has outstripped the capacity to process those already existing in the queue. Even where extended timescales for additional grid connections are factored into a company’s planning, the cost can be prohibitive, estimated at approximately £65,000. Here, a BESS can help make sustainability
ambitions and future growth plans logistically feasible by circumventing the need to draw the power required for high-demand technologies from the grid, while also helping to avoid the risk of punitive penalties should you exceed your allocated capacity. Focusing on the growth in the EV market, where a BESS stores electricity as AC rather than DC, it can facilitate rapid charging while acting as a buffer between EV chargers and the grid.
BUSINESS CONFIDENCE The growth in on-site renewables clearly demonstrates businesses’ commitment to proactive energy asset management – whether driven by considerations of emission reduction or more active control over energy spend. According to NESO, energy infrastructure investment continues, with businesses looking to third-party experts to advise on how best to actively manage the energy transition. They cite a survey finding that over 40%
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renewables in tandem with battery storage. While on-site renewables, such as solar PV and wind turbines, can help lower energy spend by reducing reliance on the grid, this is reliant on energy being consumed as it is produced. And ‘dunkelflaute’ – low solar generation or poor wind conditions - is an inevitable issue at both the macro and micro level, where energy production and availability is determined by the weather, and generation is intermittent. For businesses, this can mean that energy generated by renewable assets is wasted. If not used as it is produced, it is lost or requires operations to be shifted to suit power generation. A BESS, working in conjunction with renewable assets, can store energy as it’s generated for use when most operationally efficient. Depending on business priorities, this could be when grid energy is most expensive, when operational demands require additional energy above agreed grid capacity, or when grid supply is most carbon-intensive. As a flexible component of a site’s energy infrastructure, a BESS can help reduce energy spend, lower carbon emissions and improve power resilience by providing the emergency back-up needed when there are any fluctuations in grid supply. This last option refers to BESS incorporating Uninterruptible Power Supply (UPS), where it can save on significant losses as compared to traditional UPS back-up solutions. For one Powerstar client, for example, where
UPS was a critical consideration, switching from their traditional option to a BESS solution has meant a saving of £200,000 p.a. on wasted energy. The previous UPS was switching constantly between AC and DC, and losing significantly more capacity than the modern BESS alternative where loses are around 1%.
CAPITALISING ON GREEN TECHNOLOGY Energy UK has highlighted the imperative for energy end users to be encouraged to support grid- scale electrification, and the issues this presents until we have a fit-for-purpose UK-wide energy infrastructure, including being ‘incentivised to respond to fluctuating wholesale prices, system costs, and wider market imperatives to reduce their impact of the system and reduce their energy bills...’ Demand Side Response (DSR) is one of the main ancillary grid services incentivised in such a way, such that investment in renewable assets working in tandem with a BESS can generate income and dramatically reduce the payback period on the assets that businesses need to navigate, increasing automation and the energy transition. Where the imperative with DSR is to ensure
the grid’s stability as we face increasing demand for electricity at peak times, the key factor is collaboration towards the UK’s end goal of net
zero. Harnessing distributed assets (such as on-site solar and on-site BESS) helps balance out fluctuations in overall energy generation and demand. And this offers an opportunity for businesses to grow a new income stream and ensure a timely ROI on renewable asset investment. One recent estimate suggests that – with a low estimate of £29/kW and a high estimate £55/kW – taking a middle ground estimate on savings, a business that can reduce grid consumption over ‘5 metres that can each spare by 100kW of capacity each quarter, could receive £84,000 per year’.
BESS AND GRID BALANCING IN ACTION Parkinson-Spencer is a leading manufacturer of refractories and glass industry solutions. Facing increasing instances of disruption to their grid supply which culminated in six blackouts during a six-month period, and with their commitment to sustainability, they consulted Powerstar for an energy management solution. Working with GridBeyond, Powerstar recommended a 250kW BESS, with a voltage optimisation system, both integrated into a single containerised unit. The BESS with UPS ensures that their manufacturing processes continue in the event of any grid supply issues, while maximising the flexibility of their on-site wind turbine to provide a blend of energy sources. As a vital part of the project, GridBeyond were responsible for enabling Parkinson-Spencer to participate in grid balancing services, with the battery connected to their AI- powered energy technology platform. The system is expected to pay for itself within two years. As Simon Parkinson, managing director at
Parkinson-Spencer, noted: “Given the damaging impact that interruptions to our power supply have caused, and the added benefit of reducing our energy consumption and providing an additional revenue stream, the solution provided by Powerstar was a no brainer for our business.”
INVESTING TODAY While the opportunity to generate a new revenue stream through DSR and grid balancing services offers a compelling case for on-site renewables and BESS, there is another rationale. The grid will be under pressure for the foreseeable future, until infrastructure catches up with demand. Demand Flexibility Services have shifted from a winter emergency mechanism into an established means to regulate and incentivise energy management. In this context, and through the energy transition, for businesses to remain competitive there is a need to prioritise efficient, and sustainable, energy supply and demand. As energy becomes more localised and less centralised, those companies who can actively manage their supply and demand more flexibly will have greater capacity to take advantage of the opportunities that increased automation, and electrification, bring – differentiating themselves from competitors, while meeting the regulatory challenges of net zero.
Powerstar
https://powerstar.com
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