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A self-contained energy system that can be connected to the grid dynamically, or be permanently off-grid. Primarily a commercial application, examples include: an off-grid holiday home, or a guaranteed supply for a factory. When connected to the grid, it requires the ability to connect/disconnect from the grid in a safe and consistent way i.e. be able to provide the voltage frequency on site while disconnected, and be able to synchronise back to the grid on re-connection. If power must be available, then the output of the system (factory, holiday home) will determine the financials. While connected to the grid, it can be considered similar to behind the meter energy management (as noted below).
A managed mix of sources (solar/wind) and sinks (batteries) that the grid can call on at short notice to draw or dump energy to. Progressive developments for the technical and commercial framework now allow aggregated generation units and batteries to become virtual sources and sinks. The grid is a network and needs to be balanced, too much energy and the frequency rises, too little and the frequency drops. Since it is very hard to predict any particular demand, it can only be managed in reaction to actual demand. These storage solutions provide the ancillary services for the needs of the grid and are paid via contracts with the grid (see revenue opportunities).
Sites can have co-located generation and storage on the private side of the meter. From the grid’s perspective it only sees net surplus come to the grid, and net deficit be demanded of the grid. New sources and sinks must be registered with the grid so that the overall system balance can be managed. Not all locations can cope with new generation sources. Savings can also be made by storing off-peak energy which can be used at peak times.
Large solar and wind farms are commercial ventures to generate renewable energy. Storage is required to control when the energy is fed into the grid. The grid may not be able to cope with peak generation at the times they are available (solar during the day, wind periodically). By combining them with storage capacity, the energy can be controlled and fed into the grid at times of maximum demand. By using storage to time shift in this way, it not only helps the grid manage overall load balancing, but also allows the commercial enterprise to benefit from peak prices for their energy.