A sell out tour of theAdvanced Manufacturing Research Centre (AMRC) North West and its energy management systems, organised by Connected Energy, shows how rapidly the renewable energy market is developing, and that energy storage with solar is now a highly sought-after option.
Connected Energy has the most commercial second-life battery energy storage systems (BESS) in operation in Europe and is a world leader in this technology. Two of Connected Energy’s 300kW E-STOR systems have been successfully integrated at the AMRC site in Lancashire, linked to a range of renewable technologies, including two types of photovoltaic panels.
The tour, organised in conjunction with the AMRC, was designed to allow visitors to see the renewable technologies and learn how they can achieve what, at present, might seem impossible – manage and reduce energy bills, reduce carbon emissions, and yet increase energy consumption and security.
This is the third ‘behind the scenes’ tour Connected Energy has organised of its energy storage systems, reflecting the growing interest in learning more about how these remarkable systems work, and how they can help deliver cost and carbon savings for large estates or heavy energy users.
The questions asked by the 25 visitors, who came from both commercial and public sector organisations, show that the market is developing rapidly with far more interest in solar and energy storage since the last event, which took place in July.
Nigel Dent, Connected Energy’s head of sales commented: “In just six months the market has moved on considerably. Energy price hikes have forced organisations to fast-forward their learning and we were asked many more ‘granular’ questions. Attendees now need and want to know the explicit details such as how installation works, life cycles of the systems, how the BESS can be integrated with solar PV, and how it can be used to flatten out potential costly spikes in energy demand.”
The BESS at the AMRC will allow the site to store and use its own clean energy, keeping the centre on its green tariff at all times and serving as the data ‘heart’ of a new fully digitised building and manufacturing facility.
It is this balance with solar that is attracting particular interest, as Ben Smith, low carbon smart building specialist at AMRC North West said:
“Any business with renewables on site could hugely benefit from a battery storage solution. For us, it will allow us to maximise the energy generated from our renewables.”
Mr Dent concludes: “It’s clear that organisations in both the private and public sectors are hungry for more information on how they can take advantage of clean energy technologies such as BESS. Interest in how energy storage complements solar installations to increase energy security and independence is now of particular interest.”
