Solar industry closes in on efficient storage batteries

Storage has long been viewed as the holy grail of solar, transforming the less predictable, intermittent power generated by panels or solar thermal installations into electricity that can be drawn on as needed, at night or in emergencies, the same as fossil fuels.

But rather than some future possibility, technically and economically out of reach, solar coupled with storage batteries is now looming on the horizon, a new and exciting option in an ever-growing solar market, in the Coachella Valley and across California.

“With the common chemistry that’s used now, it’s all about value,” said Brad Heavner, policy director for the California Solar Energy Industries Association. “Right now, they’re not making enough of them to make them cost-efficient.

“Most installers see batteries as the wave of the future,” he said. “Some are really eager to get to work; some will slowly wade in as the market warms up.”

On the policy front, the California Public Utilities Commission set the stage last year when it ordered the state’s three main utilities — Southern California Edison, Pacific Gas & Electric and San Diego Gas & Electric — to have 1.3 gigawatts of storage on the grid by 2020.

And on April 15, the commission issued a preliminary ruling that could allow rooftop solar owners who add storage to their installations to be compensated for any extra power the batteries feed back into the grid.

Such systems could also be counted toward the PUC’s 1.3-gigawatt target, said Christopher Chow, a commission spokesman.

The ruling would also ensure that utilities will not tack on hundreds of dollars in extra fees for customers adding battery storage, something that has been a stall on the market, according to the April 15 ruling.

As with solar panels, compensation for excess power, called net metering, could help offset the sizable upfront investment required for batteries, said Brandon Slater, owner of Southern California Energy Alternatives, a solar installer located in Palm Desert.

“People ask about it all the time. Every sale we have, people ask, ‘What happens if the grid goes down,’ ” he said.

Slater said he can offer his customers storage systems with lithium-ion batteries but with a price tag of $8,000-$10,000, he often ends up advising them to buy an inexpensive gas-powered generator.

SolarCity, one of the leaders in the solar leasing market, is trying to sidestep the cost issue with a pilot program offering 10-year leases for battery backup to its existing customers in California.

When fully charged, the 10-kilowatt lithium-ion batteries can keep critical appliances, such as refrigerators, running for three days, or if more electricity is used, for a day or two, said Will Craven, a company spokesman.

Pricing on the system is still in flux, he said, due to some of the fees utilities have charged — a situation the company hopes the PUC’s proposed decision on batteries will help resolve.

In an April 16 blog post on the SolarCity website, company co-founder Peter Rive said the true value of battery storage will come not because it allows individuals to go off the grid but because of the synergies and benefits batteries can provide to utilities.

“In short, the grid is a network, and where there are networks, there are network effects. When batteries are optimized across the grid, they can direct clean solar electricity where (and when) it is needed most, lowering costs for utilities and for all ratepayers.”

Vincent Battaglia, CEO of Renova Solar in Palm Desert, could soon launch a similar, local leasing program, providing a 4-kilowatt battery that can ensure customers backup power for a day in the event of a blackout or other emergency.

“Their refrigerator, lighting, swamp cooler or air conditioning, we put those on a little grid, our own standalone microgrid,” he said.

“We will support those for 24 hours without any sun.”

Battaglia is looking to partner with an as-yet-unnamed German company on the deal. He estimated the added cost on a leased system could be as low as $5-$15 per month.

For those looking to buy, the battery pack will cost about $9,000, he said.

A possible candidate for the new batteries could be the 46-kilowatt ground-mounted system Renova installed earlier this year at the Rancho Mirage home of Richard Heckmann, an energy industry executive and part owner of the Phoenix Suns.

Heckmann wants to see battery technology become more efficient and less expensive before he takes the leap, but, he said, the breakthroughs are coming.

“The answer to getting off fossil fuels is going to be batteries,” he said.

“We’ve got a ways to go, but when that breakthrough happens, when the battery breakthrough happens, it will be as revolutionary as the semiconductor.

“I’ll be the first to put it in when I think it works.”

Working models of how storage can operate, on or off the grid, will be available soon.

Renova plans to install a 5-kilowatt battery to create a pilot microgrid system at its headquarters at The GreenZone in Palm Desert, Battaglia said.

Microgrids combine solar or other renewable generation with storage or a similar backup technology, providing power that can either be used locally, off the grid, or fed back into a utility’s distribution system.

“(It) will demonstrate how an average-size solar system can charge and recharge a microgrid for the average American home,” Battaglia said, noting that household electrical use in the valley is above the national average.

“Before, we were installing collectors on rooftops. Now we are creating power independence for our customers by closing the loop,” he said.

UC Riverside will unveil its own microgrid next month, combining a 4-megawatt solar system, installed on parking structures, with 2 megawatt-hours of storage provided by 330 lithium-ion batteries each weighing 80 pounds.

Beside generating 60 percent of the power needed for the school’s Center for Environmental Research and Technology, the system will also provide power for 27 electric car chargers and an electric-battery bus, said Ula Sadrul, managing director at UCR’s Winston Chung Global Energy Center.

The project will demonstrate the benefits of solar paired with batteries for building operations and electric vehicles, while also providing a test facility for utilities and training for microgrid engineers and designers, he said.

“Large lithium-ion batteries allow us to use solar or wind power for transportation, which is the biggest challenge because transportation is liquid-fuel based,” Sadrul said.

“We have combined everything in one location — solar electric, electric vehicle chargers, large batteries,” he said. “We can optimize the benefit from each component and make it work better.”

K Kaufmann can be reached at (760) 778-4622, k.kaufmann@the­desertsun.com or on Twitter @kkaufmann.