‘Batteries are just a ticket to the ball game’ - an interview with Greensmith

Battery modules as represented in Greensmith's energy storage modelling and design software. Image: Greensmith.

According to GTM Research, the US deployed just over 60MW of energy storage in 2014, mostly at grid scale. One firm, Greensmith, which produces software control platforms for storage as well as delivering turnkey systems for customers including large power producers and utilities, claims that having worked on 23MW of projects last year, the company was involved in the installation of around one-third of the total deployed.

This week the company launched StorageView and StorageModel, software that assists in the design and modelling of energy storage systems.

At a basic technical level software determines how well the hardware installed interacts with the battery and other components. It can manage the battery for optimum lifespan and closely monitor energy use. At the larger, more expensive scales of energy storage, software can actually alter the value proposition of a storage system significantly.

Along with other commentators, an analyst at another research firm, IHS, recently spoke of how critically important software is, where “in almost every case, the business model for storage relies on the technology being extremely accurate, intelligent and responsive”.

Greensmith's customers to date have included major US utilities, often driven by the need for more resilient grid networks. Image: Scott Dreger / Southern California Edison.