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It takes more energy than ever to power today’s businesses. With many companies adding electric vehicle (EV) fleets and public charging stations, leaders are in search of the most economical and efficient solutions possible to keep every part of their operations online.
Battery energy storage systems (BESS) offer a powerful solution, providing a way to capture energy — renewable and otherwise — ahead of time and use it when it’s most needed. This unlocks huge potential cost savings for businesses, streamlining their journey toward sustainability and giving them greater control over their energy usage.
Stored energy magnifies these benefits for businesses transitioning to EV fleets or installing EV chargers for the public, enabling them to fully leverage the advantages of going electric through a finely tuned energy management program. In this post, we’ll explore the benefits and functionality of commercial energy storage to help you decide if this is a wise investment for your EV charging program.
A commercial BESS is an asset that allows businesses to store energy for later use. It can be installed as a standalone system or in conjunction with other energy assets like photovoltaic solar panels and EV chargers, as we’ll explore later.
Installing a BESS can support, enhance, and enable strategies to reduce grid consumption. Further, it can help enterprises lower monthly energy bills and maximize the use of renewable energy. When integrated into an “islanded” microgrid solution, a BESS can even provide backup power during grid outages.
Unsurprisingly, developers are increasingly investing in energy storage to support these goals and enjoy the long-term savings that come with them. The U.S. Energy Information Administration reports that the U.S. grid expanded its utility-scale energy storage capacity by 6.4 gigawatts (GW) in 2023 — a 70% year-over-year increase — and is expected to add another 14.3 GW in 2024.
Battery energy storage systems rely on some of the same energy storage technology that rechargeable consumer batteries use. However, a BESS leverages a bank of connected batteries and other components to manage energy storage and distribution.
Batteries are, of course, the central component of any battery energy storage system. They come in many flavors, such as lead acid, flow, and vanadium redox (VRB) batteries. Lithium-ion batteries are generally the best choice due to greater affordability and energy density, meaning you can store more energy in a smaller space. The batteries themselves are typically installed outside on the customer’s property and protected from the elements within a metal enclosure.
Central to system functionality is the inverter/charger, which converts stored energy from direct current (DC) to usable alternating current (AC) and vice versa. In some cases, the BESS may require a step-up transformer to properly interface with the meter and power grid at the proper voltage.
Finally, the system relies on two components to manage charging and power distribution. The battery management system (BMS) monitors the battery’s charge status, temperature, and other vital health information to ensure it’s running efficiently. The energy management system (EMS), meanwhile, controls when the battery charges and dispenses energy to the rest of the system. EMS software uses intelligent energy management technology to facilitate these activities in the most cost-effective and energy-efficient manner possible.
Once installed and connected to a facility, a BESS largely functions on its own to store and distribute energy as needed.
The total amount of energy a battery can store is known as its storage capacity. This varies based on the size and configuration of the system and is usually measured in kilowatt-hours (kWh). A typical PowerFlex BESS project can range from 500 kWh of capacity to over 2 megawatt-hours (mWh). There is no ideal storage capacity, as each customer needs a different amount of energy.
Equally important to storage capacity is a commercial battery storage system’s discharge capacity. This measures how much energy a particular BESS can distribute at a given moment. Factors that impact storage capacity include how much equipment is connected to the system, battery design and chemistry, and operating temperature.
Every BESS loses stored energy over time, but the rate of loss depends on the type of system, operating temperature, and other factors. Lithium-ion batteries, for instance, typically lose between 2% and 5% of their charge per month. In general, this isn’t a concern for most commercial customers with EV fleets or public charging depots, as they charge and discharge frequently to meet power demands and take advantage of energy savings strategies.
Setting up commercial energy storage can be beneficial for many types of business applications. However, combining battery energy storage with EV chargers offers a particularly compelling set of financial and operational benefits.
Anytime you expand your business’ energy demands, you risk exceeding your maximum import capacity (MIC), or how much energy your site can take in at a given time. Surpassing MIC can lead to expensive downtime or costly electrical upgrades, and adding a large EV charging depot presents an especially high risk of overload.
Pairing EV charging with a BESS can offset these risks and diminish the likelihood that you’ll need to upgrade your electrical infrastructure. A BESS allows you to store energy during times of low demand and rely on that extra capacity during your busiest, most energy-dependent times — a process known as “peak shaving.” A system like PowerFlex X™ with Adaptive Load Management® manages this process automatically — intelligently optimizing your charging and power distribution schedule to avoid excessive demand.
Peak shaving does more than just spread out your business’ energy demand; it also helps control electricity costs. To prevent outages, many utility companies charge more for electricity during peak demand periods. The more energy you pull from the grid during off-peak times, the lower your energy bill will be each month.
A BESS paired with a system like PowerFlex X can maximize your savings by shifting the majority of your energy consumption to low-demand periods and using your battery to recharge EVs and other systems during peak times. This strategy, known as “energy arbitrage,” can lead to significant savings. According to a recent McKinsey & Company report, public infrastructure, commercial buildings, and factories may be able to reduce energy costs by as much as 80% through effective reliance on a BESS in this way.
Many businesses that make the switch to EVs are also investing in other sustainability initiatives like solar energy or other renewable energy sources to reduce their carbon footprint. Pairing these measures with a BESS can enhance their impact.
For instance, you can use a battery to store surplus solar energy on sunny days. This power can then be used to power EV chargers at night or on less-sunny days instead of pulling expensive, fossil-fuel energy from the grid.
Using a BESS for commercial energy storage can even serve as a contingency plan for power failures. When tied into a microgrid, the battery system provides an alternative source of power to keep critical parts of your business up and running during power outages, including EV chargers. This added resiliency is especially reassuring for businesses that must keep their fleets running around the clock.
When making a major upgrade like adding EV charging to your operation, you must be sure you can maximize the benefits of your investment. Finding a partner to help you seamlessly pair a backup power source with your new EV charging infrastructure can make all the difference.
PowerFlex is an all-in-one cleantech solutions provider that can plan a combined EV charging and commercial energy storage system that meets your specific business needs. We handle everything from design to installation to asset management. Plus, by implementing PowerFlex X with Adaptive Load Management®, you can save up to 60% on implementation EV and energy storage projects.
Reach out to PowerFlex today to learn more about combining commercial energy storage and EV charging.
