(Credit: Pixabay)Behind the Meter (BTM) solar plus storage systems can help many types of customers, but energy providers have not accessed the full value that these distributed resources can provide customers and the grid, according to a new report from DNV GL.
To increase the penetration of BTM solar plus storage in areas that have lower uptake, and to make the most of the market in areas where it is more common, developers, load-serving entities, investors, distributed energy resources (DER) and other energy service providers must adopt innovative solutions that go beyond the direct economic benefit of lower utility bills and emphasize its difficult to quantify benefits that include resilience, carbon emission reductions, and system peak load reduction.
The report, "Strategies for Success in Small Scale Solar + Storage," provides 12 approaches that energy providers can use to increase solar plus storage project margins, reduce costs, and support market growth. These strategies — based on market and business fundamentals — reveal untapped opportunities in the market by highlighting synergies between multiple sector stakeholders across the wholesale and retail markets. Strategies listed in the report include:
DNV GL says innovative strategies are needed to deepen penetration of solar plus storage to residential and commercial and industrial (C&I) customers more widely across the US.
The report says that all customer segments — residential and C&I — share the same driver when it comes to installing behind the meter solar plus storage: economics. These projects can significantly lower utility bills while providing customers with clean, local, and reliable energy. Growth has been most prevalent in markets where there is the clearest economic case, such as Hawaii, California, Arizona, New Jersey and Massachusetts.
For example, in February, California began construction on a two-megawatt solar and two-megawatt hour energy storage project developed by BYD (Build Your Dreams) and Apparent, Inc. at BYD’s Lancaster Coach and Bus manufacturing plant.
The project serves as a way to cut operational costs and offer a more sustainable energy solution for BYD. The site will give BYD the ability to maintain optimum power levels for manufacturing, while also generating renewable energy onsite. Powering the Lancaster plant is the first project that is a part of BYD’s and Apparent’s partnership to help deploy more efficient clean energy in Antelope Valley.
Storage plus solar also offers important additional value to customers that goes beyond utility bill savings. The growing chorus of C&I customers with strong and centralized sustainability and renewable energy programs, are highly motivated by solar plus storage’s contribution toward achieving renewable energy or greenhouse gas emissions pledges.
