Batteries with renewables can cut power costs: study

Battery energy storage systems (BESS), in combination with solar and wind power, can bring down electricity prices to as low as 6-8 cents per unit and also serve communities living far off the national grid, a study launched on Tuesday said. Titled “Integrating Battery Storage with Renewables: A Techno-economic Analysis”, the study delineates the various use cases of BESS integrated with renewables and demonstrates how this hybrid proposition can meet the variational nature of demand in Pakistan’s power sector. It is a joint product of two independent think tanks — Renewables First and Policy Research Institute for Equitable Development. Addressing the launching ceremony, energy experts, researchers and corporate management professionals explained how integrating cutting-edge technologies like BESS with renewable energy offers multiple advantages, including firm capacity, peak support, alleviation of frequency regulation issues, and grid stability. They shared that renewable energy developers can use these hybrid systems to offer customised products tailored to consumers’ demand profiles.