Large scale (utility scale) BESS
Battery Energy Storage Systems (BESS) are storage devices used to store excess renewable energy produced by solar or wind energy systems. By themselves, solar and wind renewable energy sources are valuable, but with the use of BESS, the energy they produce can be more strategically deployed in the grid.
BESS increases the operational capacity and reliability of solar and wind energy systems, as they are less reliant on the weather to produce energy. The system controls when to store energy in the battery and when to release energy to the grid. Better controlling their energy flow allows for better implementation of renewable systems. Currently, the most efficient storage technology is lithium-ion batteries which are utilized in most modern BESS applications.
According to NYSERDA’s New York State Battery Energy Storage System Guidebook, as New York’s grid becomes smarter and more decentralized, these systems will dispatch stored energy when and where it is needed the most. This will help to stabilize the energy grid during frequency disruptions to provide a smooth energy output transition. It is anticipated that large-scale BESS will likely co-locate with new or existing large-scale solar energy systems, including in Livingston County.