ENERGY STORAGE
A Borrego solar + storage project in Hubbardston, New York. Greg M. Cooper/Borrego
Timing is important, but it’s not everything: Considerations on when to add energy storage to your solar project BY C H A R L E Y W E S C H L E R A N D M I K E CO N WAY | B O R R E G O E N E R G Y
The
U.S. energy storage industry is booming, with annual commercial- and utility-scale deployments reaching gigawatt-level run rates. Although it is still relatively nascent, the industry is mature enough that the big questions around storage system design, battery chemistries and topology are well-understood by a handful of sophisticated engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) firms and energy storage integrators. Those companies have gained the experience and expertise and have the relationships
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SOLAR POWER WORLD // 2022 RENEWABLE ENERGY HANDBOOK
with developers, independent power producers (IPPs), utilities and permitting authorities to successfully navigate the complex and still murky waters of storage integration and installation. However, solar + storage is a distinct type of system integration, not just a simple add-on of storage to PV and different than stand-alone storage, a process that requires an experienced EPC and developer. The ideal scenario would find the storage components designed-in from the beginning of the project, but there are many reasons to
consider adding storage to a solar project at various times during development, construction and even once the plant is operational. Storage optionality (the ability to add storage) can help the marketability of the project to utilities increasingly looking for the grid stability and reliability benefits that storage offers. Utilities prefer storage-paired solar facilities: for a modest increase in levelized cost of energy (LCOE), they receive benefits such as the ability to shift energy to times more consistent with peak load and to utilize ancillary services.
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