In what it claims is an industry first, Pulse Clean Energy has released a tool allowing battery energy storage system (BESS) asset managers to track and certify the carbon emissions saved by BESS usage using precise, real time data.
Created in collaboration with LCP Delta and the UK’s National Wealth Fund, the UK BESS Carbon Emissions Calculator tool is designed to help users better understand the positive environmental impact of BESS developments.
Before the release of this tool, there has previously been no standardised way to measure the exact emissions savings from individual BESS projects, which are able to significantly reduce carbon emissions from the UK grid by storing excess renewable energy during times of high generation, and releasing it back to the grid at peak demadn times. As such, asset owners, investors and policymakers have hsitorically lacked reliable data to back up sustainablity claims and inform improvements.
The new tool solves this issue by using real-time data from Elexon, the UK’s electricity market operator, to calculate emissions data in half-hour periods, which when compared to the previous method of relying on average emissions figures from the National Energy System Operator (NESO), provides a more accurate report of how BESS assets impact carbon emissions.
The tool is free and open-source, and Pulse Clean Energy is encouraging all BESS investors, asset owners and other stakeholders to implement the tool in order to help verify and quantify the positive role that BESS developments are having in reducing the UK’s carbon emissions impact. Pulse Clean Energy also notes that while the tool was primarily designed with batteries and other energy storage technologies in mind, the calculator can also be used with other renewable energy asset types, including wind and solar.
Aazzum Yassir, director of technology & operations at Pulse Clean Energy, said: “The UK BESS Carbon Emissions Calculator is a real opportunity to drive the industry forward and cement its credibility in the energy transition. There is currently a lack of consistency in how emission reduction figures are calculated, which can reduce our ability to monitor and improve our asset performance.
“By encouraging our industry peers to use this tool and standardise their methodology, we can build the support we need from investors and policymakers to keep innovating and delivering on growth. We won’t get to net zero without understanding the true impact of the technologies we’re building to get us there.”
This article was first published on our sister site, Solar Power Portal.
