Solar Plus Storage: Storage Offers More Flexibility For Businesses
Solar energy, like all renewables, is about production. Energy storage is the next step in energy efficiency and sustainability. Today, that also means giving businesses control their own energy more than ever. Solar plus storage isn’t a revolution so much as an obvious next step. Businesses and manufacturers already exploring solar panels or grid-scale solar projects generate a lot electricity. When supply outweighs demand, the long-standing solution was to put it right back into the grid. Instead, using lithium-ion batteries to store large amounts of power for when it is needed offers an attractive return.
Why Solar Plus Storage Works
For businesses looking for better ways to manage their energy infrastructure, energy storage provides an option that is often much more desirable. Here are a few reasons:Batteries keep the lights on. Using solar panels alone, you won’t have power, even if there is plenty of sun. That’s because solar panels automatically turn off in the event of an outage to avoid the risk of powering lines, the very lines workers are trying to repair. Lithium-ion batteries can store solar power for outages and help businesses avoid downtime. Outages are a common problem for businesses and households alike. The average American experiences an average of six hours without power per year. Florida residents face the most amount of outages at 14.6 hours per year, with Maine just behind at 14.1. Avoid peak energy charges. Energy rates can fluctuate by region, by season, and by time of day. Many energy-intensive industries have adopted loading-shedding practices for decades. These involve managing labor shifts and energy loads to lower demand when energy rates are highest. Implementing energy storage can allow these industries to continue to operate during peak load times thanks to energy stored from renewable sources and used during peak rate hours. Get Untied. Traditional solar projects are built ‘tied’ to the grid. While that’s still a vital element of renewable energy at scale, those same solar panels won’t help families and businesses when outages occur. Both private and public solar projects now implement energy storage from the beginning or install energy storage capability retroactively.
Grid-Scale Solar Plus Storage
As renewable energy expands, energy storage technology will provide the stability and support needed to put more and more of the national electric grid exclusively on solar, wind, and other sustainable sources of power. We desperately need that transition to happen soon. In 2020, just 12% of the energy used in the US came from renewable sources. 20% of all electricity used in the US was renewable. With states looking to make substantial changes by 2030 and 2050, most have a long way to go.
Contact Keen Technical Solutions About Your Energy Storage Needs
We can bring the power of renewable energy and energy storage to bear for your company. Let’s get your energy conversation started today; contact us today.