Adding to the Utility Belt: Tools Powering Grid Resiliency

Integrating With Renewable Resources

Grid operators are adopting battery energy storage systems to address overall system capacity and reliability needs and to integrate renewable energy sources. United Power, an electric cooperative serving Colorado’s Front Range, recently completed the construction of the largest distributed BESS in the state. The system enables United Power to balance its power needs throughout the day and incorporate renewables more efficiently.

By increasing flexibility in energy deployment, BESS technology enhances the dependability and resilience of renewable energy sources, effectively solidifying their output. Storing the energy produced by wind turbines and solar panels during peak generation times, storage systems ensure its availability for later use, thus stabilizing the supply and demand of these otherwise intermittent resources.

Taking Strain Off The Grid

Beyond integrating clean energy, BESS can also enable a steadier supply throughout the day. In some regions, particularly in California and Texas, there is often a drop in demand during the middle of the day when solar production peaks. However, as people return home from work and school in the late afternoon and evening, demand rises just as solar production wanes.

Through what’s referred to as load shifting and peak shaving, BESS can store the excess power generated during the middle of the day and then discharge that power during peak demand periods. Unlike fossil fuel-based generators, BESS are able to go from zero to full power in a matter of milliseconds, making their rapid ramp-up an ideal match to handle and respond to the demand changes described above.

Replacing Fossil Fuels

Historically, utilities have used fossil fuel peaking plants to meet the heightened power demands. BESS installations offer a reliable and clean alternative to these gas-fired plants and have the opportunity to scale as grid demand continues to surge amid extreme weather patterns.

According to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), heat waves have increased in frequency from an average of two per year in the 1960s to six per year in the 2020s, lasting about a day longer, on average, in the same time comparison. They have become more intense, and the timing of these extreme events has changed, too. The average temperatures of heat waves have risen, and we’re experiencing higher temperatures in the spring and fall, also according to the EPA, ultimately lengthening the season of using air conditioning and putting more strain on the grid.

Challenges to Advancing BESS Adoption and Deployment

BESS are a versatile, impactful technology, but challenges do exist to their continued adoption and deployment. These challenges include the necessity for enhanced rules and regulations to govern and define the role of grid-scale storage. According to the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), some utilities and market operators could be waiting for additional guidelines before they commit to widespread adoption of BESS throughout their networks.

Because grid-scale storage is also a relatively young technology, raising awareness is also key. As the NREL notes, there is still education needed around the fact that BESS have the ability to provide multiple services at both the distribution and transmission levels. In order to fully complement the role of conventional generators, enhanced data and analysis capabilities can help provide a full picture of the value that BESS provides and spur increased investment in them.

Revenue and Financing

Value stacking energy storage applications, or layering together multiple sources of revenue, can boost the return on investment (ROI) for BESS and other storage assets. However, projects must be designed in a way that ensures the primary objective is met and considers the pros and cons of bringing in additional value streams. AI-based control systems can also aid in optimizing these assets across multiple applications. This can help forecast future grid conditions, potentially enabling additional opportunities for value stacking.

Grid-scale storage projects such as BESS, often require significant capital investment. To mitigate this, utilities or end users who prefer not to own the BESS outright but still wish to maintain a long-term association with the project might consider a power purchase agreement (PPA). Additionally, contracting can be a viable solution to ensure project completion, especially when there is uncertainty about securing the necessary capitalization approvals.

The Future Of Grid-Scale Storage For Utilities

Integrating BESS with renewable energy sources allows utilities to effectively manage grid demand and ensure a reliable, resilient energy supply for customers. By replacing fossil-fuel-powered sources, BESS also reduces emissions, mitigating utilities’ contribution to climate change and the resulting rise in temperatures. This win-win underscores the growing role of BESS in fostering a stable, environmentally responsible grid of the future.

# Originally published on Forbes.com via Forbes Technology Council. #