Beyond Energy Storage: Energy Services

As renewables are integrated into energy grids worldwide, the need for control systems that stabilize supply and demand increases exponentially to ensure that energy is available at all times. Timothy Effio, Market Director LATAM of Fluence, says that for this reason, energy storage systems have great potential in Mexico. “We have identified significant areas where energy storage projects can be developed to add value and stability to the grid by allowing the inclusion of low-cost renewable projects and, overall, reducing the marginal cost of energy,” he says.
While Mexico’s long-term electricity auctions are a hot topic, as they promise to bring more renewable energies into the grid, Effio points out the shortcomings of the scheme. “In Mexico, we are looking at a market that favors the trading of bulk energy,” he says. “While this is good to incentivize the development of projects, Mexico still lacks a proper legal framework directed toward the quality of energy to be bought, like capacity or dispatch control.”
Because of this lack of a legal framework, Effio says project developers are not incentivized to include energy storage, a crucial element for grid stability, into the renewable energy projects to be developed. “Storage can offer balance, robustness and resilience to the electricity system, therefore allowing for the adoption of largescale renewable energy sources, which are not firm and vary greatly in production,” he explains. “In that sense, storage systems can be considered as an active system of the grid.”
Effio gives the example of interconnection requirements, especially those to be implemented in Baja California Sur. “Since interconnection projects in Baja California Sur have to comply with certain requirements, developers are starting to include energy storage with batteries in their projects,” Effio says. He also mentions that energy storage can be used to cut down costs that would otherwise be used to interconnect isolated systems by ensuring quality energy is available at all times in smaller grids that demand lower investments for the transmission and distribution of electricity.
While utility-scale projects may be the ultimate goal for a company like Fluence, since they require massive energy storage deployment, Effio sees potential in Mexican commercial and industrial players. “These players require optimal management of their energy consumption to aim for better tariffs, reduce their costs and promote the inclusion of renewable energies,” he says. For those players, Fluence is ready to offer the Siestorage platform, which it inherited from Siemens and that is capable of reacting in milliseconds to disturbances in the grid. “Siestorage is a very interesting solution for industrial clients that cannot afford any interruption or disturbance to their energy supply and require excellent energy quality,” he says.
As Fluence is a JV between Siemens and AES, Effio emphasizes that all its clients are guaranteed the highestquality solutions on the market. “Both AES and Siemens have a long track record of working together on projects to deliver the optimal outcomes for their clients,” he says. “The companies do not sell products, but solutions, and that brand identity is also reflected on Fluence.” According to Effio, this is extremely important in a market where competition is fierce and companies must establish themselves as trustworthy partners that share a vision with their clients.
Fluence was born with the goal, according to Effio, of becoming the world’s biggest integrator of energy storage technologies to make electricity systems worldwide more reliable and sustainable. “Fluence wants to electrify everything,” he says. “This is already happening in a tremendously fossil-fuel dependent niche like transportation, through the use of EVs, which shows that our objective is feasible.”
Effio believes this goal can be pursued all over the world in many industries to make them more self-sufficient and sustainable in terms of energy consumption and diminish their dependence on cost-fluctuating fuels. “That same potential is present in Mexico,” he concludes. “Energy storage is capable of increasing the momentum that Mexico’s energy revolution has, and Fluence wants to become a key player in that.”