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In today's energy landscape, businesses face the dual challenge of managing escalating energy costs and navigating the complexities of a transitioning power grid. A critical solution appearing for businesses across various sectors is the Battery Energy Storage System (BESS).
What Businesses Should Have a Battery Energy Storage System (BESS)?
In today's energy landscape, businesses face the dual challenge of managing escalating energy costs and navigating the complexities of a transitioning power grid. A critical solution appearing for businesses across various sectors is the Battery Energy Storage System (BESS).
A BESS enables the storage of electrical energy from the grid or renewable sources, such as solar and wind, allowing it to be stored and used later. A BESS helps to maintain a consistent power supply, improves cost efficiency, and makes renewable energy more viable for big businesses.
What is a BESS - A Battery Energy Storage System (BESS) stores electrical energy, allowing it to be used later. This can be to maintain an electrical connection should the power go out, store renewable energy for later use or use battery power when the grid is more expensive.
Most large businesses could benefit from a BESS system. From manufacturing facilities requiring uninterrupted power to keep their production lines running smoothly, to data centres needing a constant energy supply to prevent data loss. A Battery Energy Storage System can help most businesses by providing a tailored solution to improve their energy usage, be that with a more reliable system or by making better use of green energy.
Importance of Energy Storage in Modern Business
Energy storage, particularly through technologies such as Battery Energy Storage Systems (BESS), plays an increasingly critical role in modern business operations. Here is why it’s becoming indispensable:
· Cost Management and Energy Efficiency – A BESS can help cut energy costs Load Shifting energy to off peak times, as well as Peak Shaving (using battery energy at peak times).
· Reliability and Business Continuity – A BESS offers uninterrupted power supply ensuring you always have power when you need it. It also doubles up as an emergency backup.
· Making the most of renewables – It allows you to make the most of any renewable energy you have access to by storing Solar and Wind power for when you need it, thus reducing your carbon footprint.
· Regulatory Compliance and Sustainability Goals – A Battery Energy Storage System allows you to meet key regulatory requirements around optimising energy usage and reducing emissions, whilst also being a useful part of your ESG policy.
· Grid Services and Ancillary Benefits – A BESS can support with frequency regulation and respond quickly to changes in the grid. It also allows you to take advantage of Energy Trading and Arbitrage, effectively allowing you to leverage a BESS as a financial asset.
Key Industries and Their Energy Needs
Whilst we think every major business would work well with a BESS, there are some key industries that should be looking seriously at a system:
1. Manufacturing
Issues: Manufacturing facilities often require substantial amounts of electricity to operate heavy machinery and production lines continuously. Any interruption can also lead to significant production losses and increased operational costs.
Benefit from BESS: BESS can provide peak shaving, load levelling, and emergency backup to maintain consistent production and manage energy costs effectively.
2. Data Centres
Issues: Data Centres need a constant, uninterrupted power supply to ensure data integrity and uptime for servers and infrastructure. There are also very high energy loads, meaning that these facilities consume a lot of electricity.
Benefit from BESS: BESS ensures power quality and reliability, provides backup during outages, and helps in managing energy costs through peak shaving.
3. Healthcare Facilities
Issues: Hospitals and clinics rely on uninterrupted power for operating theatres, intensive care units, and emergency services. Therefore, they need reliable, high-quality power to ensure their patients are safe and their equipment is protected.
Benefit from BESS: BESS can provide emergency power, enhance energy reliability, and ensure the operational integrity of medical devices.
4. Retail and Commercial Buildings
Issues: Larger commercial spaces like shopping malls and office buildings have variable energy needs, with daytime running being very different to that in an evening. It also varies by season with heating, air conditioning and lighting all varying depending on the time of year.
Benefit from BESS: BESS can help manage energy costs by shifting loads during peak hours and providing backup power for critical systems.
5. Agriculture
Issues: Large-scale farming operations, especially those involving irrigation, processing, and climate control in greenhouses, require a stable but significant energy source.
Benefit from BESS: BESS can stabilize energy supply, reduce energy costs, and support renewable energy integration for a more sustainable agricultural practice.
7. Telecommunications
Issues: Telecommunication networks need uninterrupted power to ensure continuous service and connectivity. This makes them vulnerable to power disruptions and connectivity loss.
Benefit from BESS: Provides a reliable backup power source to maintain network operations during power interruptions.
8. Public Infrastructure
Issues: Infrastructure like street lighting, traffic controls, and emergency services requires a reliable energy source. This is difficult to do without relying on non-sustainably sources.
Benefit from BESS: Helps in managing public energy needs more sustainably and reliably, particularly when integrated with renewable energy sources.
Each of these industries has specific characteristics and energy requirements that make a BESS a valuable addition to their energy management strategies. By implementing a BESS, these sectors can improve their operational efficiency, reliability, and often reduce costs, while also being more environmentally friendly.
The Future of BESS
It’s likely that Battery Energy Storage Solutions are only going to become more popular in the future. We are steadily moving to a more renewable focused electricity supply, meaning battery storage is going to be vitally important to make the most of this energy. This is also likely to have an impact on the broader energy market as well, with BESS solutions being a way that energy companies can store renewable energy on mass.
Furthermore, more requirements around how environmentally friendly your company is are going to come into force, pushing companies towards solutions like BESS.
Does your business need a BESS?
Are you still unsure if your business needs a Battery Energy Storage System? Contact our team today to talk through your requirements, go through our case studies and get a quote. https://www.dalepowersolutions.com/contact