Utility-Scale Shared Energy Storage: Business models for utility-scale shared energy storage systems and customer participation

Due to climate change, supply scarcity, and society’s desire to expand access to electricity and improve energy-system resilience, there has been an increasing demand to invest in and use renewable energy sources (RESs) that are environmentally friendly, efficient, sustainable, and affordable. This has diversified and decentralized energy sources and increased their penetration. However, the variability and intermittency of RESs has introduced new challenges to power system operators, such as the requirement for high ramping rates when solar energy declines in the afternoon, known colloquially as the
duck curve
, voltage and frequency fluctuations, and reduced overall system inertia. In response to these challenges, energy storage systems (ESSs) (devices such as batteries, energy management, and energy conditioning) have become crucial components to the reliable and stable operation of modern power systems. ESSs can tackle the aforementioned challenges to seamlessly integrate RESs into the power grid. They can help system operators to smooth the output power of RESs and provide grid services, such as voltage and frequency regulation, peak load shaving, phase balancing, energy arbitrage, expansion deferral, and so on.