The growth in solar generation globally has been remarkable with the share of photovoltaics as a percentage of total generation doubling seven times between 2000 and 2015, according to Bloomberg New Energy Finance. However, the industry faces headwinds as increasing solar generation creates challenges for network operators, tasked with controlling system reliability, to manage the uncertainty caused by this variable resource. With Fluence's new technology platform, solar energy can now be delivered when it is needed most, not just when it is available. This innovation eliminates the need for back-up generation, such as peaking gas plants or reciprocating engines, to manage solar variability. This is especially critical on many microgrids and islands, where solar and storage combined are now the cheapest and most reliable form of energy available.
"The Fluence team originally developed energy storage solutions to replace inefficient or underutilized traditional power infrastructure assets such as power reserves, peaking, or wires," said John Zahurancik, COO of Fluence. “Today, as new power investment is flowing mainly into new solar generation, we have the chance to make this more efficient from the start. With our solution, we can get more solar energy from the same site and make the best use of our power networks.”
The Fluence SunFlex Energy Storage technology platform builds upon many of the industry-leading controls and architectural principles from Advancion and Siestorage, the company’s two technology platforms and the experience gained from working with leading solar developers such as sPower and AES Distributed Energy. The new platform captures the solar energy that otherwise would be lost during daily peak solar hours, and will increase the volume of energy delivered from a single site by up to 50 percent by allowing developers to add more solar panels without the cost of changing their interconnection. In addition, the new platform improves plant stability by smoothing and limiting the ramping of solar output, and in many areas, simplifies the interconnection process for combined solar and storage facilities. These improvements are only available from tailored energy storage solutions like Fluence’s SunFlex Energy Storage platform. In addition, energy storage can expand the capabilities of solar facilities by increasing the capacity factor of the plant and adding new sources of revenue from frequency regulation and other grid services.
With 10 years of experience and nearly 500 MW of energy storage projects deployed or awarded, Fluence is the leading energy storage technology and services company. Fluence combines the experience, talent and backing of industry giants and storage market leaders Siemens and AES to offer an unparalleled suite of energy storage capabilities. The Fluence team focuses on solving customers’ energy problems and prioritizing lasting partnerships over simply delivering products.
Learn more about Fluence, its team, and its new technology and service offerings at http://fluenceenergy.com.
About Fluence
Fluence, a Siemens and AES company, is a global energy storage technology solutions and services company that combines the agility of a technology company with the expertise, vision, and financial backing of two industry powerhouses. As the successor to industry pioneers AES Energy Storage and Siemens energy storage, Fluence’s goal is to create a more sustainable future by transforming the way we power our world. The company offers proven energy storage technology solutions designed to address the diverse needs and challenges of customers in a rapidly transforming energy landscape, providing design, delivery and integration in over 160 countries. Fluence works closely with customers throughout their journey and provides advisory, financing, and project lifecycle services. To date, Fluence’s teams have deployed or been awarded a market-leading 56 projects with a total capacity of 485 MW in 15 countries. To learn more, visit http://fluenceenergy.com/ and follow Fluence on Twitter at @FluenceEnergy.