The specter of an economic slowdown and inflation make companies try even harder to reduce operating costs. Recently, CFOs have been paying special attention to electricity costs and looking for ways to optimize them. Energy independence and resistance to energy price fluctuations become determinants of a responsible and effective business. By combining these elements with improving energy efficiency, companies are able to optimize the cost of electricity, reduce the carbon footprint and meet ESG policy goals, all possible thanks to the Energate industrial energy storage.

A range of possibilities

Companies can choose from several options for optimizing the cost of purchasing electricity. First

One of them is the reduction of demand, e.g. by replacing traditional lighting with LED lighting, which, however, may result in charges for the consumption of inductive reactive energy, which are eliminated by the installation of reactive energy compensators.

The second way is to reduce the amount of energy purchased from the energy company by installing its own generation source in the form of a photovoltaic or wind installation. Own renewable energy installation is a source of free and, above all, green energy. Unfortunately, however, they have their drawbacks. The first is unstable and weather-dependent production. The second is more and more frequent refusals to connect installations due to insufficient transmission capacity

and the risk of not being able to build the installation. The third disadvantage is the surplus of energy produced, which is sold to the grid and then bought back by companies at twice the price.

The third, most effective way to optimize costs is to combine photovoltaics

with energy storage. Companies can significantly reduce energy purchase costs by building their own generation source and managing the energy they produce and consume. The payback time of the energy storage in the company is 4 to 7 years, and it depends on the amount of energy consumption, prices, and the power of the photovoltaic installation.

Who is the energy storage for?

Energy storage is a profitable investment for most companies operating on the market. The return on investment depends on many factors, which depend on the company's business profile, but are also determined by external factors. What and how exactly affect the return date?

Company size

The size of the company does not have a significant impact on the payback period, but the higher the energy consumption, the greater the chance of a shorter payback period. In the case of industrial energy storage, the minimum consumption that ensures profitability is the annual consumption of 300 MWh.

Ordered power

Energate in the company allows you to reduce the ordered power, which translates into the amount of fees. From our experience, an industrial energy storage starts to pay off when the minimum ordered power of the company oscillates around 100-150 kW. The greater the possibility of reducing the ordered power, the profitability increases and the payback period decreases. Such a reduction from 160 kW to 120 kW was made at the ASE Technology Group Campus, where the payback period of the warehouse is 4 years.

billing tariff

One of the ways of generating savings by the energy storage in the company is the use of price arbitrage, i.e. purchasing energy when it is cheap and using it when it is expensive. This way of purchasing and using energy is combined with the B23 and C23 tariffs. An important element is the difference in prices in tariff periods, because each megawatt hour consumed in this way is a saving of 500 zl, 600 or more. Therefore, the greater the difference in prices, the shorter the payback period.

Work characteristics

The number of days and hours of operation have an obvious impact on electricity costs. In the case of a combination of photovoltaics and energy storage in a company, the most convenient situation is when the company works 5 days a week in one or two shifts. This is because the highest consumption falls on the tariff period of the morning and afternoon peaks, i.e. the time when energy is the most expensive. Having an energy store, the company charges it at night with cheaper energy and uses it during the day when it is more expensive.

Own energy production

If a company has installed photovoltaics, it is able to store surplus energy resulting from non-working days, which is about 115 days a year. It would seem that the sale of these surpluses to the grid is a beneficial solution for entrepreneurs, but in the case of large enterprises that are subject to market energy prices, the cost of its purchase may be 2 or 3 times higher than the sale price . In turn, stored and free green energy can be fully used on the next working day.

industries

The payback period of an energy storage investment in a company is the least dependent on the industry. Regardless of whether it is an industrial or service enterprise, an energy storage can be a great way to optimize costs.

From 4 to 7 years

Typically, Energate payback periods range from four to seven years, depending on the facility and its consumption profile. In this situation, this time may seem long, but it is worth remembering that the energy storage will serve the company 2 or even 3 times longer than its payback period. At the same time, an investment in an energy storage is a guarantee of stability and energy independence, which in the coming years will be the basis for sustainable and successful development of the company.

A warehouse for you

The payback period depends to the greatest extent on its selection to the parameters of the object. This process is difficult, which is why Elmech has created a selection form that the investor can complete in a few minutes, send to kontakt@energate.pl, and after three days he will receive an offer together with a properly selected warehouse. The payback period can be checked in the benefit calculator, which is publicly available on the Energate website.