Energy storage as a service

Last updated

Energy storage as a service (ESaaS) allows a facility to benefit from the advantages of an energy storage system by entering into a service agreement without purchasing the system. Energy storage systems provide a range of services to generate revenue, create savings, and improve electricity resiliency. The operation of the ESaaS system is a unique combination of an advanced battery storage system, an energy management system, and a service contract which can deliver value to a business by providing reliable power more economically.

Contents

History

Scott Foster, Energy Director of the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe, is one of the leading global advocates for energy as service. He coined the term 'iEnergy' to propagate a annual/monthly subscription fee for energy, rather than the present-day commodity-led payperkilowatt of electricity system. [1] Foster believes a service-led system would put the onus on the energy supplier to improve reliability and offer the best possible service to customers. [2]

The term ESaaS was developed and trademarked by Constant Power Inc., a Toronto-based company, in 2016. [3] The service has been designed to work in the North American open electricity markets. Notable other companies offering Energy Storage-as-a-Service [4] include GI Energy Archived 2017-10-20 at the Wayback Machine , [5] AES Corporation, [6] TROES Corp., [7] Stem Inc, [8] and Younicos. [9]

Components

ESaaS is the combination of an energy storage system, a control and monitoring system, and a service contract.

The most common energy storage systems used for ESaaS are lithium-ion [10] or flow [11] batteries due to their compact size, non-invasive installation, high efficiencies, and fast reaction times but other storage mediums may be used such as compressed air, [12] flywheels, [13] or pumped hydro. [14] [15] The batteries are sized based on the facility's needs and is paired with a power inverter to convert the DC power to AC power in order to connect directly to the facility’s electricity supply.

ESaaS systems are remotely monitored and controlled by the ESaaS operator using a Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition (SCADA) system. [16] The SCADA communicates with the facility's Energy Management System (EMS), [17] Power Conversion System (PCS), [18] and Battery Management System (BMS). [19] The ESaaS operator is responsible for ensuring the ESaaS system is monitoring and responding to the facility’s needs as well as overriding commands to participate in regional incentive programs such as coincident peak management and demand response programs in real time.

The facility benefiting from the ESaaS system is linked to the ESaaS system operator through a service contract. The contract specifies the length of the service term, payment structure, and list of services the facility wishes to participate in.

Services

ESaaS is used to perform a variety of services including:

Coincident Peak Management [20]
During times of high regional demand, Independent Service Operators (ISOs)/Regional Transmission Organizations (RTOs) offer incentives for facilities to reduce or curtail their load. ESaaS allows a facility to isolate or offset their load during these high regional demand periods to decrease demand from the electricity grid to benefit from the incentives. The system is designed to work in conjunction or independent of facility curtailment.
Demand Response [21]
ISOs/RTOs offer facilities payment for curtailing their energy demand when dispatched by the grid operator. ESaaS allows facilities to participate in these programs by off-setting all or a portion of a facility load during a demand response occurrence. A facility can benefit from the incentive without interrupting their facility operation.
Power Factor Correction [22]
During charging and discharging, active and reactive power may be balanced prior to supplying a facility. By balancing the amount of active and reactive power to a facility, the power factor and resulting facility electrical efficiency may be improved. This improvement may reduce a facility's monthly peak demand charge.
Power Quality [23]
ESaaS actively monitors electricity supply to a facility. In times of intermittent power supply, ESaaS acts as an uninterruptible power supply (UPS) to ensure uninterrupted, reliable power supply to eliminate unexpected fluctuations. Fluctuating and intermittent power affects equipment operation which may cause costly delays and defects in production.
Back-up Power [24]
If the electricity grid experiences a power outage, ESaaS offers a back-up power service to continue powering all or a portion of a facility's electricity demand. Depending on the size of the ESaaS installation, ESaaS may maintain facility operation for the duration of a grid failure.
Peak Shaving [25]
ESaaS actively monitors a facility’s energy profile to normalize the electricity draw from the electricity grid. The ESaaS system stores energy when the facility demand is lower than average and discharges the stored energy when the facility demand is higher than average. The result is a steady draw of electricity from the electricity grid and a lower monthly peak demand charge.
Energy Arbitrage [26]
ESaaS actively monitors local electricity spot prices to store energy when the price is low to be utilized when electricity prices are high. This is commonly referred to as arbitrage. The net different in price results in cost savings.
Market Ancillary Services [27]
ESaaS enables facilities to participate in the local ISO/RTO markets to provide services such as frequency regulation, operating reserve, and dispatchable generation. By participating in the local market, facilities can generate revenue through the ESaaS contract.
Transmission Support [28]
ESaaS may provide services to ease congestion and constraint on electricity transmission networks by storing energy during heavy transmission periods to be released during less congested periods. The use of this service can prolong the life of infrastructure and defers system upgrades.

Markets served

ESaaS primarily benefits large energy consumers with an average demand of over 500 kW, [29] although, the service may benefit smaller facilities depending on regional incentives. [30] Current early adopters of ESaaS are manufacturers (chemical, electrical, lighting, metal, petrochemical, plastics), commercial (retail, large offices, medium offices, multi-residential, supermarkets), public facilities (colleges, universities, hotels, hospitality, schools), and resources (oil & extraction, pulp & paper, metals & ore, food processing, greenhouses).

Benefits

System benefactor does not require installation capital

To participate in an ESaaS service, the installation system benefactor does not require any capital outlay. [31] Upon installing an ESaaS service, the facility sees immediate savings and/or revenue generation. Initial capital is often a hurdle for facilities to adopt an energy storage system since in most cases, the payback period [32] of an energy storage system is 5–10 years. [33]

System operated by a third-party system operator

Source: [34]

ESaaS is a contracted service [35] that is automatically controlled by a third party. This eliminates responsibility for the facility [36] to allocate resources to manage their energy profile allowing a facility to operate their core business. The system operators have knowledge of local electricity sectors that continually monitor and update [37] system protocols as regional markets change. The information is used to optimize the value realized by the ESaaS system while still meeting facility requirements.

Environmental

For most ESaaS services, energy is stored during night time, off-peak hours when energy production is created from non-carbon emitting sources. [38] The energy is then used to offset the required carbon emitting [39] production during peak-times. The load shifting capability provided by ESaaS displaces heavy emitting generation requirements.

Pricing

ESaaS contracts may be structured as a cost sharing model or a fixed monthly price over a contracted term. [40] Cost sharing models share the economical benefits of ESaaS after they are realized by the customer. The fixed price is based on potential economic benefit and applicable programs in the region of deployment. The ESaaS contract price is always less than the economic value provided by the service to ensure the client retains a net positive value through the service.

See also

Related Research Articles

Distributed generation, also distributed energy, on-site generation (OSG), or district/decentralized energy, is electrical generation and storage performed by a variety of small, grid-connected or distribution system-connected devices referred to as distributed energy resources (DER).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Net metering</span> Type of billing of electricity generated from renewable sources

Net metering is an electricity billing mechanism that allows consumers who generate some or all of their own electricity to use that electricity anytime, instead of when it is generated. This is particularly important with renewable energy sources like wind and solar, which are non-dispatchable. Monthly net metering allows consumers to use solar power generated during the day at night, or wind from a windy day later in the month. Annual net metering rolls over a net kilowatt-hour (kWh) credit to the following month, allowing solar power that was generated in July to be used in December, or wind power from March in August.

Energy demand management, also known as demand-side management (DSM) or demand-side response (DSR), is the modification of consumer demand for energy through various methods such as financial incentives and behavioral change through education.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Grid energy storage</span> Large scale electricity supply management

Grid energy storage is a collection of methods used for energy storage on a large scale within an electrical power grid. Electrical energy is stored during times when electricity is plentiful and inexpensive or when demand is low, and later returned to the grid when demand is high, and electricity prices tend to be higher.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Vehicle-to-grid</span> Vehicle charging system that allows discharge and storage of electricity

Vehicle-to-grid (V2G), also known as Vehicle-to-home (V2H), describes a system in which plug-in electric vehicles (PEV) sell demand response services to the grid. Demand services are either delivering electricity or reducing their charging rate. Demand services reduce pressure on the grid, which might otherwise experience disruption from load variations. Vehicle-to-load (V2L) and Vehicle-to-vehicle (V2V) are related, but the AC phase is not sychronised with the grid, so the power is only available to an "off grid" load.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Demand response</span> Techniques used to prevent power networks from being overwhelmed

Demand response is a change in the power consumption of an electric utility customer to better match the demand for power with the supply. Until the 21st century decrease in the cost of pumped storage and batteries, electric energy could not be easily stored, so utilities have traditionally matched demand and supply by throttling the production rate of their power plants, taking generating units on or off line, or importing power from other utilities. There are limits to what can be achieved on the supply side, because some generating units can take a long time to come up to full power, some units may be very expensive to operate, and demand can at times be greater than the capacity of all the available power plants put together. Demand response, a type of energy demand management, seeks to adjust in real-time the demand for power instead of adjusting the supply.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Microgeneration</span> Small-scale heating and electric power creation

Microgeneration is the small-scale production of heat or electric power from a "low carbon source," as an alternative or supplement to traditional centralized grid-connected power.

A virtual power plant (VPP) is a cloud-based distributed power plant that aggregates the capacities of heterogeneous distributed energy resources (DER) for the purposes of enhancing power generation, trading or selling power on the electricity market, and demand side options for load reduction.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hybrid power</span> Combinations between different technologies to generate electric power

Hybrid power are combinations between different technologies to produce power.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dispatchable generation</span> Sources of electricity that can be used on demand

Dispatchable generation refers to sources of electricity that can be programmed on demand at the request of power grid operators, according to market needs. Dispatchable generators may adjust their power output according to an order. Non-dispatchable renewable energy sources such as wind power and solar photovoltaic (PV) power cannot be controlled by operators. Other types of renewable energy that are dispatchable without separate energy storage are hydroelectric, biomass, geothermal and ocean thermal energy conversion.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Load balancing (electrical power)</span> Techniques by electrical power stations to store excess electrical power

Load balancing, load matching, or daily peak demand reserve refers to the use of various techniques by electrical power stations to store excess electrical power during low demand periods for release as demand rises. The aim is for the power supply system to have a load factor of 1.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Load management</span> Process of balancing the supply of electricity on a network

Load management, also known as demand-side management (DSM), is the process of balancing the supply of electricity on the network with the electrical load by adjusting or controlling the load rather than the power station output. This can be achieved by direct intervention of the utility in real time, by the use of frequency sensitive relays triggering the circuit breakers, by time clocks, or by using special tariffs to influence consumer behavior. Load management allows utilities to reduce demand for electricity during peak usage times, which can, in turn, reduce costs by eliminating the need for peaking power plants. In addition, some peaking power plants can take more than an hour to bring on-line which makes load management even more critical should a plant go off-line unexpectedly for example. Load management can also help reduce harmful emissions, since peaking plants or backup generators are often dirtier and less efficient than base load power plants. New load-management technologies are constantly under development — both by private industry and public entities.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Solar power</span> Conversion of energy from sunlight into electricity

Solar power, also known as solar electricity, is the conversion of energy from sunlight into electricity, either directly using photovoltaics (PV) or indirectly using concentrated solar power. Photovoltaic cells convert light into an electric current using the photovoltaic effect. Concentrated solar power systems use lenses or mirrors and solar tracking systems to focus a large area of sunlight to a hot spot, often to drive a steam turbine.

Through the 1996 Electric Utilities Act the Alberta's deregulated electricity market began.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Solar power in California</span>

Solar power has been growing rapidly in the U.S. state of California because of high insolation, community support, declining solar costs, and a renewable portfolio standard which requires that 60% of California's electricity come from renewable resources by 2030, with 100% by 2045. Much of this is expected to come from solar power via photovoltaic facilities or concentrated solar power facilities.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Alberta Electric System Operator</span>

The Alberta Electric System Operator (AESO) is the non-profit organization responsible for operating Alberta, Canada's power grid. AESO oversees the planning and operation of the Alberta Interconnected Electric System (AIES) in a "safe, reliable, and economical" manner. It is mandated by provincial legislation to act in the public interest and cannot own any transmission, distribution or generation assets.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Solar power in Hawaii</span> Overview of solar power in the U.S. state of Hawaii

The energy sector in Hawaii has rapidly adopted solar power due to the high costs of electricity, and good solar resources, and has one of the highest per capita rates of solar power in the United States. Hawaii's imported energy costs, mostly for imported petroleum and coal, are three to four times higher than the mainland, so Hawaii has motivation to become one of the highest users of solar energy. Hawaii was the first state in the United States to reach grid parity for photovoltaics. Its tropical location provides abundant ambient energy.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Variable renewable energy</span> Class of renewable energy sources

Variable renewable energy (VRE) or intermittent renewable energy sources (IRES) are renewable energy sources that are not dispatchable due to their fluctuating nature, such as wind power and solar power, as opposed to controllable renewable energy sources, such as dammed hydroelectricity or biomass, or relatively constant sources, such as geothermal power.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Electricity sector in Australia</span>

The Australian electricity sector has been historically dominated by coal-fired power stations, but renewables are forming a rapidly growing fraction of supply.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tesla Powerpack</span> Large-scale battery energy storage product manufactured by Tesla Energy

The Tesla Powerpack was a rechargeable lithium-ion battery stationary energy storage product, intended for use by businesses or on smaller projects from power utilities. The device was manufactured by Tesla Energy, the clean energy subsidiary of Tesla, Inc. The Powerpack stores electricity for time of use load shifting, backup power, demand response, microgrids, renewable energy integration, frequency regulation, and voltage control. The first prototype Powerpacks were installed in 2012 at the locations of a few industrial customers. After July 22, 2022, the product was no longer listed for sale.

References

  1. ↑ iEnergy: Reinventing Energy Systems for the Future | Scott Foster | TEDxPlaceDesNations , retrieved 2022-03-21
  2. ↑ Darke, Walker (2021). "Sustainable energy security in Kazakhstan: exploring the policies of China and the United Nations Economic Commissions". Peking University Thesis Library: 54.
  3. ↑ "Constant Power Inc". Constant Power Inc. Archived from the original on 2019-01-26. Retrieved 2022-01-12.
  4. ↑ Wang, Ucilia. "4 Things You Should Know About Energy Storage". Forbes. Retrieved 2 January 2017.
  5. ↑ "Con Edison Battery REV Demo | GI Energy US". GI Energy US. Archived from the original on 2017-10-20. Retrieved 2017-10-19.
  6. ↑ "Energy Storage-as-a-Service". Greentech Media. Retrieved 2 January 2017.
  7. ↑ "Energy Storage as a Service". Troes Corp. Retrieved 2021-11-11.
  8. ↑ Joe. "Stem: Energy Strorage-as-a-Service, Delivering Value to Customers and Utilities". Harvard Technology and Operations Management. Retrieved 2 January 2017.
  9. ↑ "Younicos launches service to rent energy storage systems". Utility Dive. Retrieved 2018-08-30.
  10. ↑ "How Lithium-ion batteries work". electronics.howstuffworks.com. How Stuff Works TECH. 14 November 2006. Retrieved 28 June 2016.
  11. ↑ "Flow Batteries". energystorage.org. Energy Storage Association. Retrieved 24 May 2016.
  12. ↑ "Compressed Air Energy Storage (CAES)". energystorage.org. Energy Storage Association. Retrieved 13 February 2016.
  13. ↑ "Flywheels". www.explainthatstuff.com. Explain That Stuff!. 11 January 2012. Retrieved 1 March 2016.
  14. ↑ "Hydro Technology – Pumped Storage". www.hydro.org. National Hydropower Association. Archived from the original on 17 March 2016. Retrieved 8 March 2016.
  15. ↑ "Energy Storage Technologies". energystorage.org. Energy Storage Association. Retrieved 30 March 2016.
  16. ↑ "What is SCADA?". inductiveautomation.com. Inductive Automation. Retrieved 27 December 2015.
  17. ↑ "Energy Management Systems". ems3.com/. EMS3. Retrieved 16 October 2015.
  18. ↑ "Power Conversion System for Energy Storage" (PDF). www.parker.com. Parker. Retrieved 29 September 2016.[ permanent dead link ]
  19. ↑ "Battery Management System (BMS)". www.mpoweruk.com. Electropaedia. Retrieved 11 December 2015.
  20. ↑ "Coincident Peak and Your Electricity Costs". www.energymanagertoday.com. Energy Manager Today. Retrieved 12 February 2016.
  21. ↑ "Demand Response". energy.gov. Energy.Gov. Retrieved 9 July 2015.
  22. ↑ "Practical Power Factor Correction". www.allaboutcircuits.com. All About Circuits. Retrieved 2 June 2016.
  23. ↑ "Power Quality". adfpowertuning.com. Power Tuning. Retrieved 4 October 2016.
  24. ↑ "Backup Power Generator, Emergency Power Supply". www.duracellpower.com. Duracell. Retrieved 19 September 2016.
  25. ↑ "Peak Shaving". new.abb.com. ABB. Archived from the original on 21 March 2016. Retrieved 29 March 2016.
  26. ↑ "Energy Storage on the Grid Edge". www.greentechmedia.com. Greentech Media. Retrieved 18 January 2016.
  27. ↑ "Ancillary Services – AESO". www.aeso.ca. AESO. Retrieved 28 September 2016.
  28. ↑ "Transmission and Distribution Deferral". redflow.com. Red Flow. Archived from the original on 22 July 2016. Retrieved 13 August 2016.
  29. ↑ "Survey of Commercial and Institutional Energy Use – Buildings 2009" (PDF). oee.nrcan.gc.ca. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2017-01-11. Retrieved 2016-10-24.
  30. ↑ "Energy Incentive Programs". energy.gov. Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy. Retrieved 23 January 2016.
  31. ↑ "Energy Service Agreements". www.energ-group.com. ENER-G. Retrieved 30 September 2015.
  32. ↑ "Renewable Energy Project Financing: Impact of the Financial Crisis and Federal Legislation" (PDF). www.nrel.gov. National Renewable Energy Laboratory. Retrieved 17 July 2016.
  33. ↑ "Energy Storage Opportunities and Challeneges" (PDF). www.ecofys.com. ECOFYS. Retrieved 19 January 2016.
  34. ↑ "Network Operations Center (NOC)". www.techopedia.com. Techopedia. 19 June 2015. Retrieved 31 January 2016.
  35. ↑ "What is a Service Contract". www.businessdictionary.com. Business Dictionary. Archived from the original on 2 July 2016. Retrieved 30 June 2016.
  36. ↑ "Optimize Energy Use on a Large Scale" (PDF). www.cisco.com. Cisco. Retrieved 15 July 2016.
  37. ↑ "Energy Intelligence to Meet Your Biggest Challenges". www.enernoc.com. ENERNOC. Retrieved 17 November 2015.
  38. ↑ "Types of Renewable Energy". www.renewableenergyworld.com. Renewable Energy World. Archived from the original on 25 June 2016. Retrieved 18 May 2016.
  39. ↑ "Sources of Greenhouse Gas Emissions". www.epa.gov. US Environmental Protection Agency. 29 December 2015. Retrieved 30 April 2016.
  40. ↑ "What is the fixed price contract". www.businessdictionary.com. BusinessDictionary. Archived from the original on 30 June 2016. Retrieved 26 June 2016.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.