Energy Storage Company Fluence Unveils SunFlex Energy Storage, its New Technology Platform for Solar PV
New technology offering eliminates solar variability and increases
solar generation by 50 percent
ARLINGTON, Va.–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Fluence, an energy storage company owned by Siemens and The AES
Corporation, announced its new technology platform, called SunFlex
Energy Storage, that both improves and expands the capabilities of
photovoltaic solar generation, already the fastest growing resource in
the power sector. The company's newest energy storage technology
platform enables solar facilities to sell up to 50 percent more clean
energy per site, eliminates solar variability across the day – such as
that caused by passing clouds – and expands the delivery of energy into
the night, creating an on-demand solar resource.
“Solar and energy storage are the cheapest way to provide power in a
number of markets today, and will reach economic parity in many more
countries over the next five years,” said Stephen Coughlin, president
and CEO of Fluence.
"With Fluence’s SunFlex Energy Storage platform, customers can now
deliver clean, abundant and low-cost solar energy on-demand, day or
night.”
The growth in solar generation globally has been remarkable with the
share of photovoltaics as a percentage of total generation doubling
seven times between 2000 and 2015, according to Bloomberg New Energy
Finance. However, the industry faces headwinds as increasing solar
generation creates challenges for network operators, tasked with
controlling system reliability, to manage the uncertainty caused by this
variable resource. With Fluence's new technology platform, solar energy
can now be delivered when it is needed most, not just when it is
available. This innovation eliminates the need for back-up generation,
such as peaking gas plants or reciprocating engines, to manage solar
variability. This is especially critical on many microgrids and islands,
where solar and storage combined are now the cheapest and most reliable
form of energy available.
"The Fluence team originally developed energy storage solutions to
replace inefficient or underutilized traditional power infrastructure
assets such as power reserves, peaking, or wires," said John Zahurancik,
COO of Fluence. “Today, as new power investment is flowing mainly into
new solar generation, we have the chance to make this more efficient
from the start. With our solution, we can get more solar energy from the
same site and make the best use of our power networks.”
The Fluence SunFlex Energy Storage technology platform builds upon many
of the industry-leading controls and architectural principles from
Advancion and Siestorage, the company’s two technology platforms and the
experience gained from working with leading solar developers such as
sPower and AES Distributed Energy. The new platform captures the solar
energy that otherwise would be lost during daily peak solar hours, and
will increase the volume of energy delivered from a single site by up to
50 percent by allowing developers to add more solar panels without the
cost of changing their interconnection. In addition, the new platform
improves plant stability by smoothing and limiting the ramping of solar
output, and in many areas, simplifies the interconnection process for
combined solar and storage facilities. These improvements are only
available from tailored energy storage solutions like Fluence’s SunFlex
Energy Storage platform. In addition, energy storage can expand the
capabilities of solar facilities by increasing the capacity factor of
the plant and adding new sources of revenue from frequency regulation
and other grid services.
With 10 years of experience and nearly 500 MW of energy storage projects
deployed or awarded, Fluence is the leading energy storage technology
and services company. Fluence combines the experience, talent and
backing of industry giants and storage market leaders Siemens and AES to
offer an unparalleled suite of energy storage capabilities. The Fluence
team focuses on solving customers’ energy problems and prioritizing
lasting partnerships over simply delivering products.
Learn more about Fluence, its team, and its new technology and service
offerings at http://fluenceenergy.com.
About Fluence
Fluence, a Siemens and AES company, is a global energy storage
technology solutions and services company that combines the agility of a
technology company with the expertise, vision, and financial backing of
two industry powerhouses. As the successor to industry pioneers AES
Energy Storage and Siemens energy storage, Fluence’s goal is to create a
more sustainable future by transforming the way we power our world. The
company offers proven energy storage technology solutions designed to
address the diverse needs and challenges of customers in a rapidly
transforming energy landscape, providing design, delivery and
integration in over 160 countries. Fluence works closely with customers
throughout their journey and provides advisory, financing, and project
lifecycle services. To date, Fluence’s teams have deployed or been
awarded a market-leading 56 projects with a total capacity of 485 MW in
15 countries. To learn more, visit http://fluenceenergy.com/
and follow Fluence on Twitter at @FluenceEnergy.
Contacts
Media:
Fluence
Steven Goldman, 703-721-8673
[email protected]