Volkswagen is now a source of stationary batteries. They have commissioned their first site.
Tag: BESS
Link to article in PV Magazine Energy Storage
Link to Volkswagen press release
This is not an announcement of future plans or research findings. The construction phase has been completed and the system has been commissioned, meaning it has been tested as ready for operation.
So far the car companies who are in both the battery car business and the commercial stationary battery business include Tesla, BYD, Ford, and Volkswagen. Honda is in the business of solar panels and home batteries.
It may happen that these companies become known as battery companies with vehicle and stationary battery divisions.
In any case, my readers who are project developers should know who they can call to get a manufacturer's application engineers involved in making a proposal to a potential buyer of such a project.
For project developers
The scope is 20MW and 40 MWh, so this is small by utility standards but large for a commercial building or campus. The batteries would discharge over 2 hours at the 20 MW rate but longer at lower discharge rates. A rate of 10 MW would give 4 hours of electric energy, for example.
Volkswagen’s battery subsidiary is named PowerCo. This is the name to contact for sales support.
Elli is a company with access to wholesale power markets and is providing the power trading service. Link to Elli press release
No project costs, or financial metrics such as Net Present Value are cited.
The value of this project is not in energy savings. In fact, a battery is a load while charging and has a Round-Trip Efficiency of 85% to 90%. This battery is a tool for moving electric energy in time and being paid for the service. Batteries are typically charged in the morning when supply is high and wholesale electricity prices are low, and discharged in the afternoon when wholesale prices rise. In a financial analysis the benefits calculation will be centered around the opportunity to buy low and sell high.