The battery-backed photovoltaic community

The aggregation of residential batteries coupled with photovoltaic systems (a successful example of what are known as Distributed Energy Resources, or DER) is no longer just an idea, it is a reality thanks to the DER aggregation project, which is changing the way we think about energy and is oriented toward greater sustainability.
This is an important vision, starting with the ongoing trial in Lombardy and already looking ahead. On its progress - Alessio Tizzanini, Head of Distributed Energy & Demand Response, Innovability - shares a positive evaluation: “The project is giving us great satisfaction - the manager added - because, in line with our goals, it is allowing us to collect a vast amount of feedback from the field, from which we are extracting maximum value. It is helping us refine and mature the business model and the product we are offering. Despite the slowdown caused by the COVID-19 emergency, which forced us to suspend installations for several months, we are now moving forward safely, and the project already includes more than 100 residential photovoltaic systems with storage, with new ones being added”. Many private customers involved, many small residential photovoltaic systems paired with batteries are becoming key players in a new way of contributing to the stability of the entire electrical grid (and therefore, to a greater penetration of distributed renewable energy sources).

This is why the Smart Community of users was created. “We designed the Community - says Luisa Simeone - Customer Insight Manager, Innovability - as a space for ongoing co-design, giving maximum attention to customer needs and suggestions.
Those who have joined the aggregation contract at this stage are true visionaries, energy pioneers, far more than just regular customers: to us, they are real partners with whom to co-create the services of the future. On one hand, the community allows us to listen to their opinions through surveys and co-design activities; on the other, it enables us to share updates on regulatory and technological developments. It is important to us that our customers are fully aware of the new opportunities available. It is their choices that drive change”. Change is indeed a central theme, around which the entire DER project revolves. “We are applying - explains Tizzanini - a platform and technology with potentially significant impact on the penetration of distributed renewables across our territory, in a real-world and wide-scale context. This represents a unique opportunity for us to gather real feedback from the field”.

What are the benefits of residential energy storage systems for the grid?

The information gathered as part of the project also concerns the benefits that the aggregation of residential photovoltaic systems paired with storage can bring to the entire energy system. “The project - continues Tizzanini - is in fact adding a key building block to the flexibility resources that the grid operator can use for network stabilization. In particular, it adds a highly distributed flexibility contribution, which will support the grid’s balancing capacity. This has two main effects: avoiding major investments in electrical infrastructure and allowing for greater penetration of distributed renewable generation”. Among the private customers who joined the experiment, how aware are they of the contribution they are making to the stability of the electricity system and to the sustainable evolution of the energy supply chain?

“That is precisely why the Smart Community was created” - explains Luisa Simeone - “to engage customers, clearly explain the benefits, and connect them with each other.

Those who join the Community and take part in the service design activities earn points called virtual kWh. The innovation is that these points can already be converted into vouchers to be used like real kilowatt-hours for charging electric vehicles at all public charging stations accessible via the JuicePass App. Looking ahead, we are already working to expand the range of ways to use virtual kWh even further”.

What is the main area for improvement today when it comes to residential photovoltaic systems with battery storage? According to Alessio Tizzanini, it is the economic sustainability of these solutions - “on one side, by minimizing the costs associated with installation, and on the other, by developing regulatory and market frameworks that enable the provision and proper valuation of the services these kinds of assets can offer”.