Innovative Solutions for Behind-the-Meter Storage
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Innovative Solutions for Behind-the-Meter Storage

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Antonio Gozain By Antonio Gozain | Senior Journalist and Industry Analyst - Wed, 09/01/2021 - 16:42

Battery storage systems are increasingly playing a pivotal role in the balance between renewable energy and the replacement of fossil fuels. Companies like ON Energy Storage are starting to offer behind-the-meter battery energy storage systems (BESS), aiming to help clients reduce costs and become more efficient consumers, but these systems still have road to cover to become an industry-wide solution.

“There are very few BESS solutions for commercial industrial customers, the market is really fragmented and it is hard to find a single entity that can take responsibility and the risk of a project,” said David Fernandes, CFO of ON Energy Storage.

ON Energy Storage is focused on C&I opportunities in various markets across Latin and North America, with over 50 in-house software, engineering, operations, data science and power markets professionals. The company offers end-to-end solutions built around a management platform for peak-shaving, UPS, microgrid, green hydrogen, frequency regulation, energy shifting and wholesale market prediction. What differentiates ON Energy Storage from its competitors is that it has a fully automated, 100 percent proprietary electronics manufacturing service (EMS) and wholesale market predictive software integrated into its battery storage technology. The company has 12 registered patents in energy hardware, software and 5 projects in construction in Mexico, which total 13.5MWh.

BESS projects are in their “infancy,” according to Fernandes, who mentioned that hardware vendors prefer to only offer “one-size-fits-most” solutions, while software vendors “refuse to customize their US-designed platforms to emerging markets.” Storage is not a “set it and forget it” technology, however. “Customers are getting disjointed offers and there are a lot of false expectations being created. If you do not control the software, it is very difficult to offer performance guarantees in terms of an integrated hardware/software solution.”

The energy storage market continues growing and so does ON Energy Storage, which recently signed a joint development agreement with Enel X to finance Storage-as-a-Service projects. With this partnership, ON takes care of 100 percent of the technological solutions, from concept to operation and maintenance, for common clients.

ON Energy Storage offers end-to-end service delivery as it fully controls data generated by the software, allowing us to do value stackings, explained Fernandes. “One-stop shopping for these applications is the effective way to mitigate risks. It is less expensive, more reliable and has a higher ROI. At ON Energy Storage, we develop innovative commercial models. We finance certain systems for credit-worthy customers at 100 percent and we do all the design and engineering of the EPC, operating our own systems and providing guarantees of their performance,” said Fernandes.

BESS project optimization is on the revenue side, according to Fernandes. The possibility of storing energy from renewables, such as solar and wind sources to use them when needed the most is crucial for BESS applications. “In both Peru and Mexico, ON Energy Storage offer the most aggressive performance guarantees in terms of production, capacity, power consumption rate correction and energy shifting,” said Fernandes.

“As developers, we offer easy-to-understand and clear commercial offers. These can be no-money-down, zero investment offers or capital sales of equipment,” said Fernandes. Savings generated by ON Energy Storage’s system can reach up to 40 percent in certain markets, depending on their structure and the customer’s consumption profile. “We have in-house tools to do all the necessary analysis.”

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