Applications & Installations

Energy storage aggregation unlocks benefits for homeowners, grid operators, installers

Companies like Sunrun are implementing grid services using smart batteries to unlock benefits for residential end users and the grid at large. Recent research from New Zealand suggests that these benefits could be dramatic.
Ryan Kennedy
By
Ryan Kennedy
Image: Pexels

From pv magazine USA

Rooftop solar energy will be key to the grid’s evolution to a decarbonized, reliable structure that is beneficial to all.

The time mismatch between peak solar production and residential peak energy demand has driven the need for distributed energy storage units to smooth the peak and more efficiently respond to demand.

Residential solar companies like Sunrun and researchers in New Zealand are learning that the benefits of storage can be improved when storage units are used collectively, meaning batteries store and discharge power from the grid based at times of peak production or peak demand. And the gain in value is shared between solar companies, homeowners, and grid operators alike.

In a recent report published by the University of Otago in New Zealand, researchers took a demand-driven approach, analyzing a per-minute resolution time series of individual household demand over several neighborhoods that contained distributed assets. A trial led by Aurora Energy and SolarZero in southern New Zealand provided data on the efficacy of this collective battery usage method.

To continue reading, please visit our pv magazine USA website.

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