BESS, Solar, and the Future of Renewables
The renewable energy landscape is constantly evolving. From improving technology and better engineering techniques to shifting regulations and guidelines, it’s almost as if each new week offers a completely different set of solutions and challenges.
One of the most notable developments in recent years is the continually evolving role of Battery Energy Storage Systems, or BESS. Indeed, BESS are currently at the forefront of addressing some of the most critical challenges in renewable energy integration. To many experts, it’s the “missing link” keeping people from viewing solar, wind, and other renewable solutions as equal to their fossil fuel counterparts. This is problematic, as solar is currently the cheapest form of energy in the world.
Just ask Aaron Burkhart, VP of Doman Energy Group. Doman has been involved with solar energy since the 1990s and has completed dozens of major utility-scale projects across the United States. “For years, the solar industry has focused on attaching projects to the grid,” Burkhart says. “However, that’s only because battery technology had yet to catch up with us. BESS can provide the storage solutions we’ve been waiting for, but it isn’t stopping there. There are BESS engineers right now working on long-duration storage, increased efficiency, and other features that will make deploying solar faster, easier, and more affordable.”
Frequent Criticisms of Renewables
Despite countless advancements, one aspect of renewables that remains stuck in the mid-1990s is the criticism. Even as solar, wind, and geothermal evolve, energy traditionalists continue to rely on the same old arguments. And because so many people and organizations are inundated with bad or outdated information, convincing them of renewable energy’s potential becomes even harder. A perfect example can be seen above: “solar is currently the cheapest form of energy in the world.” This is true, yet too few people and organizations around the world know it. To people like Burkhart, who understands the importance of getting people excited about solar, such disconnects can be quite frustrating.
Still, it’s important to admit that renewables are not perfect. To that point, neither are non-renewable sources. Yet, as the proverbial “new kids on the block,” green energy proponents are the ones who need to do the convincing. Take the supply and demand issue, for instance. One of the first things critics say about renewables is that the inherent unpredictability of weather conditions means that solar and wind energy availability will not always align with electricity demand. Though this is not entirely accurate for several reasons, the responses are typically too “science-y” to make a convincing case. For that reason, millions worldwide remain convinced that they won’t be able to turn their lights on at night or heat their homes on a windless day.
Then you have the scaling challenges. Indeed, skeptics of a renewable-dominant power grid often highlight the limitations of renewables in providing a stable energy base. For instance, fossil fuel-based "peaker plants" have traditionally been necessary to manage demand surges, such as those brought on by cold snaps and heat waves. With renewables, the average person remains unsure of where the extra energy would come from in a crisis. Ironically, climate change often serves as an argument against renewables for just this reason.
Finally, you have infrastructure costs. While nobody is arguing that the switch to renewables will be cheap, energy traditionalists continue to throw out wild numbers to describe what it might take to prepare the global infrastructure for a renewable grid. This has long served as a deterrent to both utilities and investors, who worry that solar and wind are still too expensive to replace coal and natural gas. Despite this being a short-sighted and often ill-informed view, it remains extremely common.
“Under current frameworks, utilities often find less financial motivation to adopt renewable sources due to the high initial costs and perceived risks,” Burkhart says. “While I can explain the long-term benefits a thousand times over, they often want to see a more tangible solution. That’s precisely where BESS come in.”
BESS: Addressing Renewable Energy’s Biggest Challenges
Battery Energy Storage Systems are just what the name might imply. Specifically, they are technology solutions that enable the storage of electrical energy produced via some other means. And while the concept of a “battery” is nothing new, the application of batteries on this scale, and for this purpose, is nothing short of revolutionary.
Because BESS represent a practical way to store excess energy generated from renewables, they completely mitigate the issue of intermittent energy supply. Those who still argue that the “sun doesn’t always shine” and the “wind doesn’t always blow” can rest assured that BESS can capture that energy when available and keep it for – quite literally – a rainy day. This capability allows renewables to better align energy availability with demand patterns, making energy distribution more reliable and predictable.
BESS can also address many of the scalability complaints common among renewable critics. By helping to ensure the consistent flow of energy we’ve become so accustomed to, it drastically enhances the dependability of renewable energy sources. This is crucial for scaling up the use of renewables in the power grid at all levels, especially corporate ones. “Clients often raise questions about energy availability and storage,” Burkhart says. “BESS have become a big part of my response. As these systems wider adoption across the grid, those systems will be able to release excess energy during periods of high demand, reducing the need for additional, often less efficient, power generation sources.”
Taking all of that into account, it’s worth noting that BESS solutions are not exactly cheap. However, the cost of the average battery system has been declining steadily due to technological improvements, larger-scale production, and increased market competition. It’s also important to remember that most of the costs are upfront, as systems requiring less and less maintenance are being developed all the time. Plus, by reducing the need for additional power plants and transmission infrastructure, BESS can significantly lower infrastructure costs over the long term.
The Evolution of BESS and the Growing Renewable Grid
Though BESS technology has been around for years, its overall affordability, storage capacity, and scalability have grown exponentially. And this doesn’t even begin to factor in the latest innovations. For instance, there’s recently been major headway in the world of lead acid, which is far cheaper than lithium, though often considered subpar. But comparing the latest lithium BESS options to the lead acid batteries of yesteryear is unfair. Right now, there are companies investing millions into lead-acid technology to improve their efficiency, energy density, and lifecycle. This is translating into better energy solutions that don’t carry the high price tags associated with lithium.
Then, you have supercapacitors, which can store vast amounts of energy, bridging the gap between conventional capacitors and rechargeable batteries. Among their many benefits is the fact that they can be charged and discharged much faster, making them ideal for applications requiring rapid bursts of power. They can also endure millions of charge and discharge cycles without significant degradation, far exceeding the cycle life of batteries. Last, they require little to no maintenance compared to batteries.
“There’s a battery revolution going on, and virtually nobody is talking about it,” Burkhart says. While it’s understandable that there would be gaps between what top engineers and companies are working on and what the public understands, many see this as a hindrance to the overall renewable discussion. “Renewables are a huge part of the equation that’s going to help us solve our energy problems,” Burkhart says. “A lot of us see BESS and supercapacitors as crucial to convincing the world that we have what we need to make the transition happen right now.”
As the demand for BESS increases, Burkhart and Doman Energy Group are incorporating the technology into more of their solar engineering projects. In fact, the company has already expanded its offerings to include BESS engineering as a standalone service. “Right now, we provide insight and consulting services on how to incorporate BESS into ongoing solar projects for efficiency and cost-effectiveness,” Burkhart says. “As with our solar services, our focus is on creating value over the life of the project. The technology can do a lot, but our experience and unique engineering approach can take that even further.”
Experts like Burkhart feel that integrating BESS with smart grid technology, which can automatically detect and react to local changes in usage, can transform energy systems worldwide while quashing virtually every complaint related to renewable energy. “It’s very hard to turn on a gas power plant, or coal, or any other traditional plant. In fact, it could be days before they’re actually up and running. BESS has the ability to provide direct power at the flick of a switch,” Burkhart says. “With these new battery solutions, renewable energy isn’t just as good as traditional sources: it’s better.”