UK and Ireland-based aggregator Endeco is rebranding to Gridbeyond. The firm says the name more accurately reflects its offering in a rapidly changing market.
Demand-side response aggregators still rely on contracted revenue streams from grid operators, such as frequency response contracts, to unlock value for companies that can use flexibility within industrial processes to help balance power grids.
However, opportunities from merchant or market-based revenue streams are emerging.
Meanwhile, aggregators are building hybrid systems that combine load (response from customers adjusting power consumption) with battery storage, which Gridbeyond CEO, Michael Phelan, says unlocks greater flexibility at lower cost.
The firm is taking this approach at industrial sites across the UK and Ireland in partnership with Irish utility ESB, which invested around £2.7m in the firm in 2016.
Phelan recently told The Energyst that the hybrid DSR-storage approach also insulates investors from risk of revenue compression for services such as frequency response.
“If lots of batteries flood the market, many people [with pure-play battery assets] might lose their shirts, in the way that many people did in the Stor market. They borrowed money to invest in generators, then Stor [prices] collapsed.”
He said by putting in smaller batteries to unlock flexibility, “your investment isn’t as exposed” and a hybrid approach will result in “a much lower cost solution” than standalone batteries.
He said combining batteries with industrial load can “unlock the gigawatts of storage that already exist” in the UK, lowering overall cost to consumers.
Endeco/Gridbeyond was one of the sponsors of The Energyst’s Battery Storage report, which is available as a free download. It contains views of public and private sector end users considering storage, energy consultants, financiers, energy companies and aggregators.
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