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In mid-to-late August, due to the extreme high temperature and dry weather, there was a power shortage, and industrial users had to be rationed, which affected the electricity consumption of some residents, which once aroused heated discussions in the society.
In this context, Compared to home energy storage, commercial energy storage has become an important means for Chinese companies to achieve emergency power backup, maintain normal operations, and reduce energy expenditures. The electricity price mechanism in some cities has accelerated the commercialization of commercial energy storage in China.
1. Multiple companies race to commercial energy storage
The global commercial energy storage market is in the ascendant, the market demand is huge but the competition pattern has not yet fully opened, and the market as a whole is on the eve of the outbreak. Commercial energy storage capacity ranges from tens of kilowatts to several megawatts, mainly composed of batteries, BMS, PCS, power distribution systems, and EMS. Compared with the large-scale energy storage of 100 megawatts, it is much easier for commercial-side energy storage to enter the market. As a result, new commercial energy storage brands such as Yike Electric and Zero Carbon Intelligent are pouring in, gradually forming a dance with companies in the industry.
At this stage, large-scale commercial energy storage companies include CNTE, Alpha ESS, MS ENERGY, Cubenergy, JG ENERGY, etc. Among them, CNTE relies on the industrial empowerment of its parent companies CATL, one of top 10 lithium battery companies and NEBULA, and already has the ability to integrate the entire industry chain and the supply capacity of a full range of products such as commercial energy storage, mobile energy storage, and optical storage, charging and inspection.
At present, the competition barriers of various enterprises are not yet obvious. In the future, new entrants can achieve corner overtaking through capital financing, differentiated market development, sales channels and brand building. Commercial energy storage will become a standard configuration product for industrial production and large business circles, and there is room for growth. In the next 2-3 years, the market will continue to usher in new commercial energy storage brands, and the market will continue to be in a period of brand competition.
2. The rise of photovoltaic and energy storage integration
In the process of continuous advancement of new energy, commercial energy storage and distributed photovoltaic have gradually become the golden partners to compete in the market. Distributed energy is an energy supply method that integrates energy production and consumption arranged on the user side. It can provide users with a variety of energy supplies of cold, heat and electricity. It has the characteristics of on-site utilization, clean and low-carbon, diversified interaction, flexibility and efficiency. It is an indispensable and important part of modern energy system.
At present, the development and utilization mode of "distributed energy + energy storage" system in the energy storage market has received extensive attention. Coupled with the continuous introduction of favorable policies, the "distributed energy + energy storage" mode is in a stage of rapid development. With the continuous increase of the installed capacity of distributed energy, the urgency of power grid transformation to adapt to the access of massive distributed wind and solar power sources will be strengthened. In the future, the combination of commercial energy storage and distributed photovoltaic will be one of the important trends in the development of commercial energy storage.
3. Applications for commercial energy storage
Since 2022, 187 user-side energy storage projects (including commercial energy storage) have updated progress information, involving a scale of 3.9GWh, of which 99 are newly registered projects, continuing the momentum of rapid development of commercial energy storage in China since H2 in 2021. Most of the commercial energy storage filed in the first half of this year is used in industrial parks and charging facilities. The configuration of energy storage in industrial parks can reduce the cost of electricity by taking advantage of the peak-valley price difference.
At the same time, it can be used as a backup power supply during power outages and power cuts to reduce unnecessary capital losses caused by shutdowns. Equipping the charging pile with energy storage turns the charging pile into a large-scale charging treasure. During the peak period of power consumption, charging the car with its own power supply can effectively relieve the pressure on the grid. It is reported that there are two main business models for the operation of commercial energy storage in China.
First, industrial and commercial users install energy storage equipment themselves, which can directly reduce electricity costs, but users need to bear the initial investment cost and annual equipment maintenance cost. The other is that energy service companies assist users in installing energy storage, energy service companies invest in the construction of energy storage assets and are responsible for operation and maintenance, and industrial and commercial users pay energy service companies for electricity costs.
4. Four factors drive commercial energy storage
With the gradual liberalization of China's industrial and commercial electricity prices, large-scale consumer-side energy storage projects such as China's industrial and commercial industries have formed an explosive trend.
● Better economy is an important factor to promote the development of commercial energy storage
According to the latest implementation of electricity prices, the summer peak-to-valley price difference of large industrial users in Shanghai, Hubei, Jiangsu and other places in China exceeds 0.7 RMB/KWh, and commercial energy storage in these areas has good economics.
● Peak-to-valley arbitrage for industrial and commercial users, and demand for backup power continues to rise
According to incomplete statistics, since last year, many provinces and cities in China have successively issued notices of power cuts, which have caused production losses to thousands of companies, and even CATL's Sichuan branch has been affected by this. After the power outage incident, more and more enterprises began to prepare for danger in times of safety.
The energy storage system can not only improve the utilization rate of photovoltaic power, but also ensure normal production during power cuts. In the context again, in order to ensure stable electricity consumption, ordinary industrial and commercial users have increased demand for photovoltaic installations and energy storage on the roof. Then, the commercial energy storage market demand has entered a period of rapid growth.
● From the urgency of new power system construction
The development of the power grid under the new power system with new energy storage in the future will form a pattern in which the large power grid dominates and various power grid forms coexist. In the future, with the accelerated construction of China's unified electricity market and the mature application of virtual power plant technology, spot electricity trading and electricity ancillary services will also become profitable channels for commercial energy storage.
● Directly due to factors such as the cost reduction of energy storage systems
According to analysis, the upstream core components of commercial energy storage such as cell materials, chips, and PCS will enter a centralized release cycle of new production capacity from 2023 to 2024, and the system cost is expected to drop to a level below 1.2 RMB/Wh. Greatly reduce the financial pressure of Chinese owners and energy management operators.
Conclusion
With the reduction of the cost of energy storage batteries, the investment cost of energy storage systems will inevitably be more optimized, and the market potential of commercial energy storage will be further stimulated, and commercial energy storage is expected to become a new outlet after industrial and commercial photovoltaic.
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