Power couple in the making: why storage and solar are essential in reducing geopolitical risks and ensuring energy access
The price of energy has risen dramatically this year due mainly to various factors, such as the release of demand that was not being met post-COVID as well as disruptions in supply because of the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
The abrupt rise in energy costs and the resultant rise in inflation is creating policy anxiety worldwide as consumers are confronted with soaring cost of living. In the UK, for example, households are experiencing a “cost-of-living catastrophe”, with the consumer price index rising 10.1 percent over the twelve months leading up to July 2022.
Renewable energy generation is clean and affordable, however it can be intermittent
Analysts find that the power-couple of solar and storage is among the most lucrative chances for commercialization of batteries. It is considered to be the most appealing country to co-locate storage of batteries by an expert group of storage experts and experts, the UK has battery storage as a priority in its national net-zero strategy.
The continuing growth of renewables and major price reductions for both storage and solar assets, and the technological advancements which make renewable energy easier to handle are major factors driving the market.
Incorporating smart technologies will make solar-plus-storage systems more efficient, while reducing issues and speeding the shift to renewable energy.
Internet of Things augmented by artificial intelligence (AIoT) can boost the solar power generation process and the charging and discharging of batteries by anticipating and responding elements like weather forecasts, energy grid limitations as well as the health of batteries, electricity prices grid services market, and many more.
Apart from that, AIoT helps to increase the earnings of power couples as well as prolong the battery’s life. boost solar energy production, lower the cost of maintenance, and decrease security risks by aggregating data on a single platform which lets artificial intelligence apply its knowledge to.
The benefits of combining solar with storage of energy
Battery safety, grid stability and blackout security
Storage solutions for solar can function as solar security, which allows stored energy to be used when demand for power is high (and associated with higher costs) and solar production is not as high. Thanks to these innovative technologies, unified solar as well as storage could also in preventing blackouts. This is a problem that is seen across Australia from California, Lebanon to South Africa.
Grid-services and price arbitrage
Storage can also provide the “buy-low / sell-high” opportunity for businesses to utilize low-cost energy during times of high demand and are at their highest. Additionally, these assets could provide grid services like dynamic containment, which keeps frequencies within a particular interval – thus bringing in substantial new revenue to the owner.
reducing the chance of yield compression while increasing the safety of batteries
This power pair of solar plus storage offers a unique solution to deal with the issue of profit compression and yield (also called “solar capture rate”) which is the continual reduction in energy prices as the sun shines and more solar-powered assets are introduced to the market. In addition, the advanced technologies in the power couple enhance battery security by constantly monitoring and optimizing operational parameters for the highest efficiency and reliability.
Cost savings and revenue streams from solar-plus-storage
Solar-plus-storage can boost the efficiency of renewable energy projects through reducing some of the capital expense needed – that is, fewer panels needed to generate the same amount of revenue and creating new revenue streams through grid services that were mentioned previously.
The barriers to widespread adoption of solar plus storage
The primary obstacle to widespread use of solar-plus-storage is knowledge: figuring out the best design, assessing the value of investment, and navigating the management of risk (including regulations) as well as the cost and complexity of controlling these devices.
When it comes to determining the ideal design of the system, one has to face issues like designing the perfect battery configuration that will maximize returns on investment (ROI) as well as figuring out the best cycles and power market trends, the ideal discharge depth, and rate of degradation, and choosing the appropriate software system to maximize profitability of the asset and performance.
Risk management and investment is yet another factor to be considered. Because the technology is evolving, investors are looking at the technical and regulatory risks that come with solar-plus storage projects’ results and ROI prior to making major commitments. This uncertainty could deter some sectors from investing in this power pair.
Monitoring multi-asset systems can be extremely complex and expensive. To improve operations and ensure the health of their systems, companies need capabilities to automatize operations, and to identify and fix issues across their sites, assets and business lines.
Utilize technology to maximize solar-plus-storage systems
Technology has a key contribution to overcoming the previously mentioned barriers, ultimately leading to an improved and sustainable solar-plus-storage system. The most important solutions are digital twin modeling, predictive maintenance, and AIoT integration for optimizing and control.
Digital twin modeling can assist in improving the design and performance. Before creating real objects, digital twin modeling can help provide business cases that are investment-grade by using accurate simulations. This gives confidence to decisions. Digital twins enable owners of assets to anticipate problems that are adapted to local grids and future-proof the risks.
Predictive maintenance could increase the utilization of assets and improve cost efficiency. Inadequate maintenance and unplanned downtime can result in unnecessary costs and decrease plant or asset efficiency by up to 5-20%.
AIoT predictive maintenance enhances the efficiency, reliability, and performance of assets through anticipating failures, reducing delays , and delivering early warnings. This reduces the total cost of maintenance by 5-10 percentage.
Additionally, AIoT energy management systems offer granular, millisecond-level live control, and the capability to monitor and manage entire fleets of assets on one platform. They also offer precise energy generation and demand forecasts with weather and price forecasts.
Real-time multi-asset monitoring and accurate forecasts optimize the energy charge-discharge schedules and provide supply and demand control, improved trading in energy, and seamless grid integration, which reduces the operational costs and increasing revenue.
Smart solar storage and smart solar for reliable and clean energy
Reducing the risks of geopolitics and economics such as wars to price increases and inflation and more, is no simple task. What we can do is to create sustainable energy security within “our backyard”, to cut carbon emissions and reduce costs while limiting exposure to risks that are beyond our control.
Smart solar and storage solutions can do exactly this. This innovative solution for the future can guarantee the longevity of a flexible, intelligent and resilient grid powered by renewable energy sources.
Inability to adopt smart renewables may increase our vulnerability to unpredictable and undesirable geopolitical risk and raise the price of energy – and, consequently costs of living for all.
Only by implementing solutions such as solar plus storage will countries be able to lower their costs of living, become energy-separate and less dependent on adversary nations. It’s the time to act.
