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An energy management system is the conductor that should be able to manage more than self-consumption. If not, it is losing you money.
No matter what industry you're in, the way you consume energy is about to change. Especially if you have a gas boiler on your factory lot. In the not-so-distant future, a single factory might be connected to the grid, have solar panels on the roof and a battery. All the trimmings of electrification. To control all of this, you need an energy management system. The conductor-function that makes every instrument in this symphonic orchestra of renewable energy play good quality notes at the right time in order for industrial production powered by renewable energy to be not only practical. But profitable.
We want to help you avoid the common pitfalls. To give you a guide on how to face this challenge and turn this investment in renewable energy into a revenue stream for your company. It begins with knowing how to control a battery.
- In principle it’s simple, says Christian Blom.
It’s the kind of statement you hear in movies. When the plot thickens, right before the height of tension, the hero or the villain says that one liner sentence. A statement foreshadowing what is to come. We’ve all heard them. If the hero says to the girl “stay in the car”, you can bet your life, she won’t. If a sound is heard and someone says, “It’s probably just the wind” whatever happens next won’t be “a breeze”. If someone says, “what could go wrong?”, that means something will.
- How is it simple?
- A battery can do three things, Blom continues.
- It can charge power, discharge power or stand by to do so. All three of which have a monetary value. For someone.
When using electricity to power industrial production, a battery becomes the load shifting component that allows energy to be stored for later use. It is what keeps a system of renewable energy with solar and wind power from being operated as if it was a sailing ship at sea, entirely dependent on the weather.
- The problem is knowing which of these actions to perform. And when. A battery is facing demands from conflicting interests every second, all the time, says Blom.
You could buy and charge your battery with cheap energy now, but should you if tomorrow is going to be a sunny day? How much energy should you buy if it’s going to rain tomorrow, especially if you're trying to stay within your power usage limits set by the energy company? Also, how do you balance keeping enough free space in the battery for trading energy, while still having enough power for your industrial needs? And don't forget to factor in the cost of charging cycles.
As you may have realized by now: these choices quickly become mind numbing. The amount of “if then” variables and the data you need to sift through to make a choice - at any given second - places these kinds of operations well within the realm of computers.
- Understand, this is not just about maximizing self-consumption. You are trying to maximize financial value by juggling all of these considerations. Every second of every day your battery is operational.
-If you do, batteries can be quite profitable.
- So, “what could go wrong?”
- In the beginning there were fires. People saw how easy it was to make money and started to drain their batteries completely all the time. The ones that didn’t catch fire were used up in four years.
- Now, they typically last ten. People know a little bit more about how to use them, but it still seems like a too expensive proposition for a lot of companies.
Blom tells the story of a typical example. A bus charging station that installed solar panels, batteries and an energy management system. It was supposed to be a showcase for sustainable operations and renewable energy, but what happened? They managed to store and consume the power, but not much more.
-The system wasn't able to sell energy at peak rates in the external market. They failed to make real business out of it because the energy management system didn’t perform as it should have, Blom says.
-What did it fail to deliver on?
- They succeeded in self-consumption but failed to deliver what generates revenue for your business. You need an energy management system that delivers on all three things demand management, self-consumption and flexibility trading,” he says.
However, the underlying issue might be much more fundamental. These businesses aren’t really buying batteries to take on the workload and know-how of a power company.
- To make all of this work for someone not in the battery business is a big ask. They’re running steelworks, paper factories and breweries. Not power plants, says Blom.
-You just want the battery to work. You want to focus on your daily operation while at the same time relying on your energy system, says Blom.
That is why businesses in the energy transition will need an energy management system. It is sometimes called a prioritization engine. A machine deciding every second whether the battery should charge, discharge or stand by to do so. At the right time. So, you don’t have to.
In a world where everything is being electrified, grid capacity is limited. In other words, even if we had enough electricity, there’s not enough capacity to transport power to those who need it. The grid is full. Present capacity took a hundred years to build. By some measures, we need to double it. Or do we?
-Local production sites can’t rely too heavily on grid capacity anymore. There’s a new order when it comes to energy, and for many businesses batteries with a fully automated EMS, are the future, says Blom.
- Why is that?
- More people can connect to the grid if you can promise to stay off it at peak hours, or at short notice, Blom says.
A factory could be able to say ‘Ok, we will not use more than 500 kilowatts from the grid during daytime. If we need more, we’ll take it from the stored battery power and connect it behind the meter’.
-That way the factory keeps consumption from the grid down. Some companies, save hundreds of thousands of euros every year that way.
Although absurd and given some specific circumstances, some industries end up creating more revenue from demand management of their batteries, than their core business. Electric ferries could ironically create more value from energy than they are earning from the ferry operation itself. That bizarre example shows that batteries have the potential to make many industries more profitable – while at the same time contributing to the green shift, Blom says.
-In the end, it’s profitability that’s the key for many businesses, Blom says.
Skyfri technologies is already competing in European markets, optimizing EMS behind the meter as well as handling energy market regulations in various countries.
-If you look at countries like Germany, Poland, Austria and The Netherlands, they are the front-runners in battery use. They are learning that you need an EMS that can handle the complexity that comes with the operation of the battery.
This is about timing. When to prioritize demand management, flexibility trading or self-consumption for behind the meter power production.
Not discharging the reserves in your battery in time to receive free solar power is a costly waste of resources. The energy management system should be able to forecast how much battery power to consume and when, in order for the battery to charge solar power. The cheapest energy possible.
If you already have enough power. Much like the weather, your EMS should be able to forecast when kilowatts are priced right for your production. If we know prices are low tomorrow, we may be able to maximize self-consumption until that time. Or the opposite, if prices are low now. This is called demand management.
Going above the set amount of power in your purchase agreement will raise the price of your kilowatts. When approaching this limit, your EMS should be able to prioritize self-consumption to reduce cost. Instead of going over the limit while charging power from the grid
While meeting your own energy production needs is important, grid compliance is not optional—it is a mandatory requirement for grid connection. Ensuring grid stability takes priority over all other concerns. Energy systems must be designed to meet grid demands first, even above local consumption. Failing to comply with grid regulations can jeopardize your connection to the grid and any associated compensation.
Be ready for flexibility trading by maintaining the capacity to charge or discharge power from the grid. Based on response time, you can stack the revenue streams from this into a new, surprisingly large revenue stream. The ideal battery charge for this is 40-80% of total capacity.
To keep your battery healthy longer. Proper management of charging and discharging cycles extends the battery's life, maximizing the return on investment and maintaining efficiency over time. Avoid frequent deep discharges and overcharging due to lack of proper battery management protocols.
Incorporating weather forecasts helps optimize energy storage and usage. Accurate forecasts allow the system to adjust charging and discharging based on expected solar production, ensuring efficient energy use and storage.
Rather than storing it for self-consumption, you can sell your kilowatts at the right price. This means your EMS must know your energy needs are already met. To do this you need historical data and trend prediction capabilities for accurate forecasting.
Your behind the meter production of solar power can be sold to tenants, but you will need to keep track of billing without needing to physically check the meter. An EMS should be able to automate and track this.
We are living in a time of grid constraints, and selling power to your own neighborhood solves a problem for the grid. Your EMS should be able to handle this along with billing.
Preparing renewable energy sources for integration into virtual power plants contributes to a flexible and resilient energy grid. Virtual power plants aggregate multiple energy sources to act as a single power plant, enhancing grid reliability. Avoid incompatibility with virtual power plant requirements and standards.
-Batteries aren’t new, they’ve been around for a while. But managing and controlling a battery to perform multiple tasks, that’s new,” Blom says.
He continues:
- We can deliver the EMS that you need.
If you want to know more contact Skyfri at sales@skyfri.com
For any further enquiries, kindly contact us via email on post@skyfri.com or visit us at Rådhusgata 5 0151 Oslo, Norway.