Energy storage power station maintenance contract

Do energy storage tolling agreements restrict a developer's use of a battery?

As the energy stored in the battery belongs to the buyer, energy storage tolling agreements will often prohibit or restrict the developer’s use of the storage system for station service. The inclusion of this condition requires that the developer enters into a retail service contract for the system’s non-storage load.

Who owns the energy in an energy storage tolling agreement?

In an energy storage tolling agreement, the seller develops, owns, and operates the energy storage system, while the offtaker supplies charging energy. Therefore, the energy in the system belongs to the offtaker.

Do energy storage products need periodic maintenance?

The requirements for periodic maintenance for energy storage products should be identified by the OEM (IEEE 2010). In settings where predictive analytics maintenance is economical, guidance should also be available from the manufacturer that identifies methodologies for assessing when a product may be approaching a failure mode.

Why should you track energy availability in a PV operation contract?

Tracking this availability (or unavailability) provides transparency into the equipment reliability state to all parties involved in an O&M services contract. In most PV operation contracts, energy will be the driving factor of whether the system is operating as expected.

How much does Alcatraz Island cost to maintain a PV system?

Figure 13 shows the PV energy storage system on Alcatraz Island. The National Park Service budgets ideally $90,000–$100,000/year for maintenance of this 1,920-kWh battery storage plant, including a monitoring contract for $30,000/year; battery testing for $5,000 three times/year; and PV array cleaning and maintenance for $15,000 twice per year.

How does energy affect a PV operation contract?

In most PV operation contracts, energy will be the driving factor of whether the system is operating as expected. EPC guarantees, operator guarantees, owner measure of ROI, and other considerations for a contract are mostly based on whether the system produced energy as it was expected to.