DNV GL, an international consultancy group based in Norway, has claimed to have found the key to implementing grid-connected energy storage networks and systems. What has been called a “multi-stakeholder” approach involves different parties utilizing battery-stored energy at different times.

This research has been conducted in conjunction with Peeks, a commercial aggregator in the business of flexible energy systems, and Alfen, a manufacturing and integrator of such storage systems. The group has committed itself to authoring the framework by which this multi-stakeholder system can be applied to various communities. The application of such a “sharing” grid can lead to the implementation of renewable and non-traditional energy sources. By creating incentives for all parties involved, it is expected that this model will spread faster than the other potential solutions concerning energy storage. Despite the optimism, DNV GL has issued a disclaimer saying there is no business case for this project yet.

As it stands, there are various regulations that would prevent the implementation of such a system. Take for example that grid operators are prohibited from owning storage facilities, limiting their participation in the commercial electricity market. This means that the implementation of such a sharing grid would not benefit the grid operators, and they would chose not to participate. The reasoning behind the regulation is sound, as it prevents price control on the part of the grid operators. However, collaboration between these bodies, as well as between suppliers and customers, can help compensate for periods of slow business and can benefit all who chose to participate. The business model that DNV GL hopes to produce will only be accepted if all parties are better off due to its implementation.

The example given by DNV GL to demonstrate the benefits of these types of systems is that of grid operators being able to avoid expensive infrastructure upgrades to manage inactivity more efficiently. Currently there exists storage systems that remain on standby for 90 percent of the year. With a change of rules, this business model would allow grid operators to utilize that storage, and help manage supply and demand needs of customers, while also integrating renewable energy. Allowing the storage to unit to be commercially active for trading on the energy markets (APX, primary reserve, secondary reserve) would benefit the grid operators – this allows more benefits and higher revenues without additional capital expenditures and without additional investments. Furthermore, it allows for new technologies to be integrated to existing systems. Stakeholders of the grid operators and of the storage facility will benefit from lower operational costs associated with managing the network and a framework by which to increase the network in the future.

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The market for energy storage and ancillary services is expected to total 93.8GW by 2025, according to a new report by Navigant Research.

The report – ‘Energy Storage for the Grid and Ancillary Services’ – found an increasing interest from utilities and grid operators in energy storage.

Differences in energy market structures and grid needs around the world will result in energy storage markets with unique needs, the report said.

“This dynamic highlights how important it is to have flexible offerings in both technologies and business models to succeed,” it added.

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The energy storage industry is positioned for some huge growth in the coming decade, but it’s already starting to take off in some surprising places.

In this week’s episode of Industry Focus: Energy, Sean O’Reilly talks with Motley Fool contributor Travis Hoium about the budding market for energy storage. Tune in to find out where the energy storage industry is the most active today, where it might grow in the future, a few companies that investors can look into if they want exposure to the space, how power pricing in the continental U.S. is affecting the growth of residential power storage, and more.

A full transcript follows the video.

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A new model that involves paying customers to host energy storage batteries in front of the meter should help stakeholders to optimise financial gains from storage, according to analysis from Navigant Research.

US-based utility Consolidated Edison (Con Ed) partnered with microgrid developer GI Energy and announced plans for this new business model in January. They aim to capture the most advantageous aspects of locating storage both on the utility-side and behind the meter, by “blurring the lines” between the two markets.

Navigant cited troubles with the rapidly growing behind the meter market, such as the value of storage systems varying significantly between customers and regions. Furthermore, despite well-touted opportunities to participate in competitive wholesale markets, realising genuine revenue streams also remains uncertain or unavailable in certain locations.

Importantly, with individual customers installing storage on their own, opportunities to benefit from economies of scale are being missed.

To counter this, Con Ed hopes to be able to deploy a far larger number of systems using third-party financing and its new leasing model. This involves deploying storage systems at customer sites and paying those customers a set rate for leasing their space. Under this type of ‘real estate transaction’, customers then don’t have to understand the complexities of tariffs and time-of-use rates to benefit financially from their storage system.

Navigant claimed: “This should make hosting storage a lucrative opportunity for a much greater number of customers, regardless of their energy usage patterns.”

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Con Edison has filed a project that will bring battery storage technology to New York City neighborhoods to help keep service reliable during the hot summer months.

By the summer of 2018, the company will deploy batteries capable of sending 1 MW of power for four hours into the grid to serve homes and businesses. Con Edison will determine where to deploy the batteries each summer based on the needs of its electrical networks.

The project, called “Storage on Demand,” is the second battery demonstration project Con Edison has filed in 2017. The company believes both projects will produce insights leading to more widespread adoption of large-scale battery storage to benefit electrical delivery systems and customers. The projects support the state’s Reforming the Energy Vision initiative.

“Battery storage technology is advancing quickly and can provide us with another tool to keep our service reliable on the days our customers need it the most,” said Matthew Ketschke, Con Edison’s vice president, Distributed Resource Integration. “Battery storage can also help us defer making upgrades to our infrastructure, saving our customers money.”

Con Edison has formed a partnership with NRG Energy, which owns almost 50,000 megawatts of generation capacity across the United States, to develop and build the units at NRG’s generating station in Astoria, Queens. Storage on Demand will consist of two mobile battery trailers and one mobile electrical switchgear trailer.

When Con Edison and its customers do not need the batteries, the units will be stored at the generating station and the partners will sell peak-shaving, contingency support and other services into the New York Independent System Operator wholesale market.

While Con Edison plans on deploying the units during the summer, the batteries will also be available at other times of the year when an electrical network needs short-term support.

In its other storage demonstration project, filed in January, Con Edison will work with microgrid developer GI Energy to place “front-of-the-meter,” 1 megawatt/1 megawatt hour batteries at the properties of four customers. Con Edison will make quarterly lease payments to those customers.

The company would charge the batteries during off-peak times and discharge them during peak times to support Con Edison’s system or in wholesale markets.

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Energy storage company Alevo announced an expansion Tuesday of its Concord production plant that will add 200 new jobs over five years and more production lines. Alevo said it will invest $251 million in the facility.

Cabarrus County commissioners and Concord City Council have approved performance-based tax incentives totaling about $10.5 million.

The state’s Economic Investment Committee also approved up to $2.6 million in job-development reimbursements. The money will be paid in installments over 12 years if the company meets job creation and investment targets.

“It’s exciting that a global company like Alevo chooses to manufacture its cutting-edge energy storage products right here in North Carolina, in the heart of one of our state’s strongest manufacturing regions,” Gov. Roy Cooper said in a statement. “We need to continue to recruit and train for 21st century jobs like these.”

Alevo opened its Concord manufacturing site, the former Philip Morris cigarette factory, in late 2014 without state or local incentives. It promised 500 jobs within a year, but found the launch slower than expected; by early last year unpaid contractors had filed more than $4 million in liens.

Local officials now say they believe that initial promise can be fulfilled.

“The City Council and I maintain confidence in Alevo’s plans to reclaim Concord’s largest manufacturing site and transform it to a hub of clean energy technology,” Concord Mayor Scott Padgett said. “Alevo is truly a multinational corporation and we are excited for their expansion in Concord as they market their products and services to the world.”

Founded in 2009, Alevo is headquartered in Switzerland. Its GridBank energy-storage system uses large battery arrays to reduce energy waste, lower greenhouse gases and other emissions, create efficiencies and lower costs.

The first GridBank unit was cleared for delivery in Hagerstown, Md., in January.

The company now has 215 employees in Concord and will hire in areas including manufacturing, engineering, maintenance, logistics and supply chain. Salaries for the more than 200 new jobs will average $56,327, compared to the average annual wage in Cabarrus County of $37,808.

Meeting energy demands of the future means exploring the viability of various technologies today. In its latest research project, Louisville Gas and Electric Co. and Kentucky Utilities Co. is launching a new Energy Storage Research and Demonstration Site at its E.W. Brown Generating Station near Harrodsburg in Mercer County.

The project, which was developed in collaboration with the Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI), became operational in January 2017 and will allow the utilities to develop, test, and evaluate the potential benefits of utility-scale battery technologies, and investigate operating needs and associated costs.

Additionally, researchers will be able to use the site to advance control technologies, increase value gained from storage, and determine solutions to integration challenges for energy storage on the electric grid.

The site includes three testing bays for energy storage technologies, each able to house up to one megawatt of storage, resulting in a total hosting capacity of up to three megawatts of energy storage. The first energy storage system installed on the site consists of a one megawatt lithium-ion battery system, a one megawatt smart power inverter and an advanced control system. This storage system was custom-engineered for the site and can support a number of advanced control functions and use cases during testing.

“The Energy Storage Research and Demonstration Site is unique among other sites in the utility industry because it provides us a testbed for evaluating multiple utility-scale energy storage technologies at the same time,” said Dr. David Link, manager of Research and Development for LG&E and KU.

Testing multiple storage technologies at one time will allow researchers to assess how the individual systems operate and any potential grid integration challenges as the systems work together, simulating these technologies operating at the same time on the electric grid.

The site is also designed to be collaborative, creating a “virtual lab” for use by other utilities working with EPRI to address potential gaps associated with utility-scale energy storage, while also providing a platform to share knowledge gained across the utility industry.

“Energy storage is a viable way for grid operators to enhance resiliency, manage costs, and optimally incorporate distributed energy resources on an integrated grid,” said Mark McGranaghan, vice president of Distribution and Energy Utilization at EPRI. “The LG&E and KU testbed will provide valuable data on the performance of energy storage that will help utilities across the country make better decisions about their own systems as well as provide information to other stakeholders.”

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California-headquartered provider of low-cost, long-duration storage systems Primus Power has launched the EnergyPod 2, the second generation of its long-duration, fade-free flow battery.

Primus is shipping systems to US and international utilities, including Puget Sound Energy in Washington State.

With a five-hour duration and  20-year life, EnergyPod 2 delivers a total cost of ownership up to 50% less than leading conventional lithium-ion battery systems, the company claims.

The solution is ideal for peak shaving for commercial and industrial (C&I) customers that typically face high electricity bills during peak periods. Long duration energy storage can shift loads from on-peak times to off-peak times, thereby significantly reducing demand charges.

The California Public Utility Commission wrote in a recent staff report that “more hours of peak shifting capability would be more effective in removing generated energy from the grid at peak supply times and injecting it into the grid at peak demand times.” This exemplifies the growing need for long-duration storage solutions.

Recent reforms to California’s Self Generation Incentive Programme (SGIP) benefitted long-duration technologies that previously missed out on the incentive, through the extended US$83 million a year awarded to behind-the-meter storage.

EnergyPod 2 also features a flow battery that lasts far longer than its lithium-ion counterparts, which is essential given that multiple hours of battery power are required to bridge power outages for industrial microgrids.

Furthermore, utilities can employ long-duration batteries instead of costly and dirty fossil fuel-based peak shaving systems. Such batteries can also contribute to cheaper system upgrades and offset the variable generation of solar PV. Modular battery systems, like EnergyPod 2, offer compelling economics compared to their fossil fuel-based alternatives for the purposes of substation upgrades. 

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The government’s scaling back of a program encouraging residential solar power has Panasonic Corp. hopeful the market for home energy storage systems is about to receive a boost.

In 2019, a program designed to buy back solar power flowing from rooftop panels at above-market rates will start becoming less enticing, potentially leaving homeowners who signed up with excess power on their hands. Osaka-based Panasonic is anticipating that installations of energy storage systems combined with solar panels will rise as a result.

Panasonic has been selling residential energy storage systems that include a battery and an inverter since 2012. In April, it will begin offering a new model a third the size of the current version while also being able to be hung on an outer wall and installed using fewer parts.

“We are counting on more people preferring to consume electricity produced from their home solar panels on site, rather than selling it to power companies” once their incentives expire, said Ryo Matsumoto, in charge of business planning and development at Panasonic’s Eco Solutions unit. “We are seeing 2019 as a turning point.”

The new model with an inverter and a 5.6 kilowatt-hour storage battery will sell for ¥1.69 million, according to Panasonic, which makes solar panels and lithium-ion batteries.

Tesla Inc., the electric carmaker and renewable energy company led by Elon Musk, is offering a 14 kilowatt-hour Powerwall storage system for ¥873,000, according to the company’s website. Tesla began mass production of batteries for energy storage with Panasonic at its Gigafactory in Nevada earlier this year.

In November 2009, the government began a program to buy excess power from rooftop solar at above-market rates in order to promote photovoltaic power. Utilities bought solar power from residential rooftops at ¥48 a kilowatt-hour for 10 years.

Following the 2011 Fukushima nuclear disaster, the government introduced a wider incentive program for clean energy. Currently, rates for residential solar are as low as ¥31, while solar rates for larger projects are at ¥24.

The incentives expanded Japan’s residential solar, with cumulative capacity increased from 2.7 gigawatts in 2009 to about 11 gigawatts in 2016, according to data from Bloomberg New Energy Finance.

The expiration of incentives beginning in 2019 is expected to provide business opportunities, said Takashi Hokiyama, a spokesman for the Japan Photovoltaic Energy Association.

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