“Solar storage will be a mainstream solution, fully integrated into energy strategies across industries”

pv magazine: Diesel generators have conventionally been the predominant power backup solution for businesses. With corporate focus on balancing sustainability with profitability, how is the market shifting to environment-friendly alternatives?

While there’s a trend towards green energy adoption, diesel generators have long-standing presence. In contrast, the ecosystem for battery energy storage systems (RE+BESS) solutions is in its nascent stage. When transitioning to environment-friendly storage solutions, BESS may gain traction in the long term when there is market experience of their reliability over the years, initial capital expenditure (capex) becomes more competitive, and new plants are established. For players who have already invested in diesel generators, switching to BESS solutions is economically challenging in the current regime.

While solar coupled with BESS entails higher upfront investment than diesel generators (DG sets), the lower operational costs and ease of usage makes them environment-friendly yet a cost competitive solution. Absence of combustible fuel making BESS easier to use, safer, and cleaner than traditional gensets.

How big is the battery energy storage market for C&I sector? What’s the annual growth rate and projections?

Given the lack of precedent for BESS, projections remain challenging. Although, there is an increasing intent towards BESS in the C&I sector considering that their existing experience with green energy has demonstrated significant cost and environmental advantages. Additionally, BESS coupled with renewable energy sources will offer benefits in demand (peak/off-peak offset) management and robust scheduling (reducing DSM penalties) to enhance the overall commercial attractiveness. With a track record of proven reliability and reduced capital cost, we can foresee significant BESS deployments for the C&I sector.

What are the key barriers?

The current challenges to adopting Battery Energy Storage Systems (BESS) include technological uncertainty, unknown operational risks, and concerns about reliability. To overcome these barriers, both public and private sector support is essential. The government can play a proactive role by providing direct incentives to companies that are committed to offering integrated energy + storage solutions. Such support would encourage wider adoption and spur further innovations in the sector. Additionally, addressing the skill gap is crucial; the government should promote specialized training programs and make energy storage technologies a core part of engineering and technical curricula. This will help build a skilled workforce equipped to manage and maintain these advanced systems, ensuring their reliability and sustainability in the long term.

How are battery storage systems being designed to cater to critical sectors like healthcare and datacenters and harsh environments like in mining and construction?

BESS have potential applications across critical sectors like healthcare and data centers, but there are still questions around whether they can meet the absolute reliability required in these areas. Both data centers and healthcare facilities depend on an uninterrupted power supply (UPS), as even brief power outages can be highly disruptive and costly. Currently, BESS technology is yet to fully demonstrate the level of reliability that these sectors demand, and existing solutions are primarily focused on conventional UPS systems.

In contrast, sectors like mining and construction, which operate in remote and harsh environments, present more practical opportunities for BESS deployment. Battery storage can serve as an eco-friendly, movable alternative that supports flexible power needs without reliance on fuel. While still a developing technology in certain applications, BESS provides a portable and sustainable solution that can effectively supplement existing systems, helping reduce emissions in off-grid or difficult-to-access locations.

What new business models are emerging in the C&I battery storage space?

Among many innovative business models, “Battery as a Service” (BaaS) and “Storage as a Service” (SaaS) models seem to be the most notable ones. With Battery as a Service, companies can access energy storage solutions without the high upfront costs of ownership. Instead, they pay for battery usage based on specific needs, allowing them to avoid the complexities of maintenance and management, as these responsibilities are typically handled by the service provider.

Similarly, Storage as a Service offers C&I customers the flexibility to use battery storage on-demand, where they pay only for the energy storage capacity they use. This model enables businesses to scale their energy storage needs according to fluctuations in demand, making it a flexible and cost-efficient solution. Both models are helping to drive adoption by reducing barriers to entry and providing C&I companies with scalable, sustainable energy storage options.

How does Amplus envision the future of solar storage?

Amplus envisions solar storage as an essential component of the future energy landscape, especially for the commercial & industrial (C&I) sector. As our clients increasingly move toward achieving 100% renewable energy usage, solar storage presents a significant opportunity for us to support them in reaching their sustainability goals. Looking ahead, we anticipate that solar storage will be a mainstream solution, fully integrated into energy strategies across industries. Our focus remains on providing cutting-edge storage solutions that align with our clients’ renewable energy ambitions, contributing to a cleaner, more sustainable energy future.

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