New Industry Products

Growing Global BESS Chorus follows Tesla Announcement

May 04, 2015 by Jeff Shepard

Taking advantage of the strong interest generated by Tesla's introduction last week of a battery energy storage system for residential and commercial customers, a growing number of companies around the world are making BESS announcements. For example, today AGL Energy Limited (AGL) is launching a battery energy storage system (BESS) into the Australian market, making it the first energy retailer to do so. The initial offering will be for residential and small business, giving consumers more control over managing their energy consumption. AGL's Power Advantage proposition, will include a range of battery storage devices based on lithium-ion technology, making them clean, compact and reliable.

Also today, ONEnergy Inc. and Ideal Power Inc. announced that the Sunwave Energy Efficiency division of ONEnergy has selected Ideal Power's power conversion systems (PCS) for use in its line of energy storage solutions to be launched in Canada and select U.S. states beginning in mid-2015. Ideal Power's products will be included in certain Sunwave new energy storage solutions that address multiple commercial and industrial applications including demand charge management, peak shaving, off-peak energy storage, renewables integration, power quality and emergency backup systems. This follows a similar announcement yesterday by Ideal Power.

Commenting from Australia, AGL’s Energy Storage Lead, Ed Lynch-Bell said, energy storage is still an emerging technology but is moving very quickly. As such AGL is focused on providing new, innovative and integrated offerings to meet consumers changing energy needs. "The launch of Power Advantage is another pillar of AGL’s multi-pronged strategy of being a leader in the evolving new energy and disruptive technology space.

"The first device will be capable of storing 6kWh of solar energy and will suit an average family home with 3-4.5kW of solar PV. The battery storage device however could be used in a home without solar PV. The battery will be the size of a large suitcase and will provide consumers with backup for essential home services such as lighting, refrigeration and communications, a welcome peace of mind for potential disruptions of energy supply,” Lynch-Bell continued.

AGL’s aim is to provide tailored energy solutions for consumers which integrate energy generation and storage. For example, with real time monitoring of a home’s solar power system and the right storage device to suit a consumer’s needs, AGL energy storage devices will enable a consumer to store power and use it when they want.

AGL has plans to develop a suite of products to cater to a range of home and business sizes and types. The 6kwh battery storage device is the first in this range and in the initial phase will be available in limited numbers. Larger battery sizes will be available later this year.

"We're focused on providing the most efficient and flexible power conversion systems to optimize products made by the world's leading energy storage manufacturers," said Ryan O'Keefe, Senior Vice President of Business Development for Ideal Power. "Working with Sunwave to broaden our customer reach is a great opportunity to strengthen our impact in this market and expand the footprint of our power conversion systems within the energy storage industry."

"At Sunwave Energy Efficiency we aim to offer our customers best-in-class products to help them effectively manage their energy consumption and costs," said Sandro Costa, Vice President, Sunwave Energy Efficiency. "Ideal Power's products are a key part of a highly efficient and reliable energy storage solution, and we are pleased to add Ideal Power as a solution partner. The Ideal Power products are an integral part of ensuring that Sunwave's energy storage solutions deliver maximum efficiency and performance at a highly competitive total cost of ownership for our customers."

The deployment of these storage systems will help to fulfill the growing demand for behind-the-meter energy storage and management systems, and increase the availability of energy storage for grid-support and microgrid applications. Ideal Power expects this agreement to promote further adoption of its power conversion systems in the energy storage sector.