ENERGY MANAGEMENT
NEGOTIATING THE ENERGY TRILEMMA WITH HYBRID ENERGY MANAGEMENT TECHNOLOGY
The Energy Trilemma of affordable, sustainable and
resilient power is a balancing act. Stuart Little, business development manager at Powerstar, explains how a hybrid approach to energy management assets can help address the issues, with CHP and Battery Storage
the transmission losses associated with grid supply. However, the level of investment required for CHP can be daunting. But, Government strategy regarding decarbonisation is supported by various funding options, currently including: CCL exemptions – where the CHP achieves ‘Good Quality’ status; Enhanced Capital Allowances – a 100% write-off, against taxable profits for the year of installation; and Business Rates Relief, for investment in ‘eligible plant and machinery’, including rooftop solar panels, wind turbines, and battery storage for EV infrastructure. For companies considering CHP, Business Rates
Relief – specifically, the inclusion of Battery Energy Storage Systems (BESS) – highlights how a hybrid approach to energy management assets can help maximise ROI, while meeting the challenges of the Energy Trilemma. Where a BESS incorporates Uninterruptible Power Supply (UPS), this can ensure on-site power resilience, protecting equipment, processes and data during grid disruption. While CHP can operate effectively in island mode, incorporating a BESS enables the system to manage sub-second disruptions. Ordinarily, a CHP would not be able to switch sufficiently quickly to handle short-term disruptions, and the step change in power demand from a sudden switch to the CHP can cause it to trip and shut down. A BESS with UPS acts as a load buffer, transitioning to the CHP supply while protecting critical equipment from shut down.
Powerstar BESS
K Government statistics from May 2025 indicate that the energy crisis is still with us, and Quarter 4 2024 prices are still 75% higher than at the start of 2021. These costs are determined in part due to a continued reliance on fossil fuels, meaning sustainability remains a high priority, for the UK and for businesses – where non- compliance with regulatory changes risks legal and financial penalties. Equally, companies overlooking decarbonisation run the risk of brand damage and commercial loss, should your customers impose evidence of your ESG targets in their procurement process. The UK has ambitious targets for 2030: For
U
at least 95% of British electricity generation from low-carbon sources to ‘reduce greenhouse gas emissions and limit our contribution to the damaging effects of climate change’. But, this impacts on the resilience of the grid,
which was designed to run from large-scale coal, gas, and nuclear plants, with turbines creating inertia helping to maintain grid frequency. Since wind and solar do not create inertia, a steady frequency is harder to maintain, meaning that any major fluctuation could lead to generators
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disconnecting and system collapse. Whether this played a part in the recent blackout in Spain is still unclear, but the question highlights the critical issue of resilience. The Environment Agency currently predicts a
‘medium risk’ of drought, after the driest February – April since 1956. This may well impact several aspects of our mixed energy supply: lack of water for hydroelectric power generation; lower resources for nuclear plant cooling processes; and potentially lower wind generation in hotter temperatures.
ENERGY INFRASTRUCTURE Investing in your own energy infrastructure can help mitigate risk and balance the Energy Trilemma, and Combined Heat and Power (CHP) can be an effective starting point: improving energy efficiency by more than 40%; lowering production cost, and reducing carbon emissions. For operations requiring cooling, Combined
Cooling Heat and Power (CCHP) can provide the energy for refrigeration or air conditioning – ever-more relevant as climate change impacts UK weather patterns. Where this power is used on-site, this can also support sustainability goals, avoiding
ENERGY & SUSTAINABILITY SOLUTIONS - Summer 2025
INCORPORATING A BESS - WITH OR WITHOUT CHP TECHNOLOGY For companies either developing or embarking on their Net Zero journey, incorporating a BESS into energy infrastructure – with or without CHP technology – can enhance the performance of on- site renewable assets, while reducing energy spend. Balancing the use of on-site power generation alongside grid energy, where energy generated from renewable assets is stored in the BESS for use when most economical, helps avoid peak prices for grid supply, while maximising flexibility and ROI for these renewable assets. Similarly, when implementing an EV fleet strategy
for improved sustainability, a BESS can help overcome grid constraints. The added energy demand may require additional grid connections and either be refused by your Distribution Network Operator or find itself in a long queue for processing. Here, the energy stored in the BESS can facilitate rapid EV charging, without impacting your demand from the grid. Behind The Meter energy management
technologies can offer significant improvements: lower operating costs; greater energy resilience; and lower emissions. Currently, the push for greener energy in the UK includes financial incentives to facilitate investment. Until we find a way to fully address the Energy Trilemma, there is no single solution to affordable, sustainable, and reliable power. Developing your energy infrastructure, incrementally, asset-by- asset, can lead to shorter- and longer-term rewards, with demonstrable payback for ROI.
Powerstar T: 0114 257 6200
www.powerstar.com
www.essmag.co.uk
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