Quick Guide to

Battery Energy
Storage Systems
 What’s causing all the buzz
Why are and how is this technology
they so
Important ? meant to revolutionize
the electric industry?

The world’s electric grids operate under the fundamental paradigm where consumer load
and electric generation must be in precise and constant balance. Moreover, electric
systems try to maintain this complex balancing with scarce storage capacity – something
without parallel in other industries in the modern world. As a consequence, great financial,
resource and environmental inefficiencies exist, which affect both the supply and demand
sides.

In Generation, the balance is largely

maintained by mandated, costly spinning
reserves, which withhold capacity from G E N E R AT I O N
diverse, efficient generation sites in order to
deal with day-to-day balancing. Grids are then LOAD
forced to build additional, inefficient and dirty
‘peaker plants’ to cope with unpredictable
loads and contingencies.

In Transmission, centralized systems often link distant large generation sites with huge and
sometimes unpredictable loads. The absolute importance of consistent and reliable
electric supply, demands we fortify our transmission systems with redundancies that are
expensive to build and maintain, but still remain vulnerable.

Customers and end-users – who ultimately bear the cost of the entire system – have little
control in how they consume their electricity since their individual use is inextricably
linked in time and value to the macro-operations of our electric systems.
 STORAGE
CHANGES EVERY THING
Energy Storage Systems can be used as a useful complementary tool
in existing generation and transmission sites, providing valuable
ADDS FLEXIBILITY TO ancillary services such as frequency regulation, voltage regulation
GENERATION & and reactive energy supply. These services are performed with
greater precision and reliability than conventional generation systems
TRANSMISSION and do so at a lower cost, allowing turbines to focus on their
ASSETS designed objective; generating energy for sale as efficiently as
possible.

There are many concerns about the capacity of the grid to adopt a
greater percentage of intermittent renewable resources (Solar and
Wind) that are rapidly penetrating the market due to their falling
ALLOWS GREATER costs and inherent environmental benefits. Storage is the best way to
to delink the power supply to the grid from the hours of intermittent
INTEGRATION OF resource availability. This gives system operators the capacity to
RENEWABLES mitigate the dreaded ‘duck curve’ by curbing ramp rates, can
strengthen solar business cases by supplying a greater firm power
capacity and even allowing arbitrage opportunities when there are
large daily fluctuations in energy price.

Storage helps decentralize the electric grid by providing greater

flexibility, reliability and efficiency to Distributed Energy Resources
DRIVES FORWARD (DER’s). Additionally they are fundamental pieces in the control of
THE DISTRIBUTED these distributed assets through their specialized control software
GRID which intends to maximize the storage systems value by supplying
multiple services – both to user sites as well as the grid. These control
platforms are essential to aggregating DERs in the creation of Virtual
Power Plants (VPPs).

Many end users cannot control their current loads, which generate
ALLOWS high monthly electric bills that are always tied to complex tariff
USER structures. BESS allows customers to shift electric consumption for
their maximum benefit by having customized systems provide
CONTROLLED
services such as Demand Charge Management and Load Shifting,
ENERGY USE with immediate cost savings.
 GROW TH OF BESS :
BAT TERY ENERGY STORAGE SYSTEMS

BESS have taken a prominent role for

the following reasons:
Even though there are a variety of Storage
• COST
Technologies - from compressed air
• MODULARITY
injection, pumped-hydro, capacitors and • S C A L A B I LT Y
flywheels – Battery Energy Storage Systems • AVA I L A B I L I T Y
have become increasingly popular across the • FLEXIBILITY
value chain of the electric sector. • S P E E D O F I M P L E M E N TAT I O N

PRINCIPAL
ESS COMPONENTS

Power Conversion Control Software Batteries

More accurately referred to as Power Conversion The Energy Management Systems (EMS) controls These batteries determine the ENERGY of the
Systems (PCS); they largely determine system the entire ENERGY FLOW and operation of the system – also often measured in duration. The
POWER. These systems are bi-directional, BESS. They monitor, report and control the ESS technologies and chemistries vary widely
provide great precision, robustness and remotely and autonomously and can be depending on the site scale and requirements.
durability. programmed to provide many services Today, Lithium Batteries provide a low cost, high
simultaneously and intelligently. output and life-cycle alternative.
“Systems are still “If battery costs are falling,
too expensive to it’s better to wait before
implement.” making an investment”

False. System costs are down to historic lows across the world False Batteries are only one component in an Energy Storage
and spectrum of applications. Today there are hundreds of active Solution – among them; inverters, communications, containerization,
projects online and hundreds more in the planning phase with fire suppression, HVAC, construction & commissioning. Typically a
concrete business cases in almost every country in the world. battery represents between 40-60 % of total system costs. Even
There has been an important reduction in system costs over the when battery costs have been falling aggressively – at a rate of about
past 24-36 months and thereby – new and profitable 10% per annum during the last 8 years – the impact on total system
opportunities appear on the horizon every day. cost ends up being rather low in comparison to the value generated
by the ESS once installed. Taking this example into account, any
opportunity that generates over a 5% return is leaving money on the
table by not investing in Storage.

MY THS ABOUT ENERGY STORAGE

AND THEIR UNDERLYING ECONOMICS

“Battery Systems will make “Batteries are still

me consume more unsafe”
electricity”
True.. Batteries and inverters typically have small energy losses False. Batteries for use in static energy storage are designed with
during the transformation from AC power from the grid into DC power safety as an absolute priority. Moreover, unlike consumer products and
in the battery and then vice versa. The combined effect of these losses electric vehicles, stationary storage uses battery chemistries that are
is called the Round Trip Efficiency (RTE). BESS typically have an RTE of often less energy dense, have greater chemical stability and integrate
between 85%-95% depending on the chemistry and operation of battery management systems that control and monitor each cell to
the system. This means that there are between 5-15% of losses on identify and isolate system component failure quickly and safely.
the energy that runs through the ESS. Even when this efficiency is Furthermore, recent reports and independent studies, such as those
something that must be considered in any analysis, their impact on stringently conducted by the New York State Fire Department, have
system return is typically low, since the value generated by ESS more determined that battery energy storage systems are safe for use in
than compensates for the increased energy use. residential, commercial and industrial applications.
 Operators of existing
1
P R I N C I PA L conventional generation
assets.
BENEFICIARIES OF
Clients with ‘peaky’
2 electric loads or high
E N E R G Y S TO R AG E demand charges.
SYSTEMS
TO DAY 3
Solar and Wind developers
& site owners.

Operators of existing
conventional generation assets.
Energy Storage Systems have been proven as effec tive and flexible
complements to existing conventional generation sites. Projec ts to date
have shown value in several often interconnec ted areas:

Fuel reduc tion in Co -

Provision of Energy Generation or non- Increase in firming
Ancillar y Ser vices: Arbitrage: grid tied systems: for renewables:

M A I N D R I V E R S

High cost of providing Consistent and

High fuel and Capacity payments
grid balancing or predic table
logistics costs. and energy costs.
market led ancillar y variations in marginal
ser vice bidding. costs.
 
Commercial & Industrial Sites
With Peaky Loads

In commercial and industrial (C&I) sites in markets with high elec tric
tariffs, demand charges or time of use charges, we see an excellent
oppor tunit y to install small-scale energy storage systems that will help
mold elec tric use behind the meter in order to maximize savings and
efficienc y for the customer.
Utilizing ON Energy Storage’s turn-key ESS and their proprietar y
ON.COMMAND® energy management system will yield savings of
1 5 - 2 0 % o n to t a l e l e c t r i c e x p e n d i t u re ; w i t h o u t b e h av i o r o r s i te
modifications from the user or its customers.

S olar & Wind D evelopers &

Site Owners

Batter y Energy Storage Systems are the ideal add- on to solar and wind
g e n e rat i o n s i te s b e c a u s e t h e y c a n h e l p m i t i g ate t h e i r i n h e re nt
intermittenc y. Additionally, they add revenue streams by being able to
provide greater firm capacit y to the system, provide ancillar y ser vices
such as frequenc y and voltage regulation, take advantage of time -
shifting oppor tunities like arbitrage and even maximize the potential of
PV panels through DC-DC charging.
 WELCOME TO THE FUTURE

We are a focused technology supplier and project developer dedicated entirely to

creating, supplying and operating Energy Storage Solutions.

With a unique focus and local presence in all our markets, ON utilizes its engineering
know-how and proprietary development tools to bring projects to fruition with maximum
value, safety, reliability and bankability.

Our data analytics software uses statistical and

This specialized control software acts autonomously
financial modeling to quickly analyze
and with maximum precision to optimize system
oppor tunities, achieve optimum system sizing
benefits for every ESS that we operate. It employs
and provide economic sensibility analysis to
predictive and adaptive AI functions to adapt to the
compare and contrast available solutions. This
dynamic conditions of each customer site –
valuable development tool is customizable and
fundamental in maximizing returns and system
able to present a holistic representation of
reliability.
system construction and ownership.

Contact:

W W W. O N E N E R G Y S TO R AG E . CO M
[email protected]