Google-Backed Battery Storage Pilot Boosts Carbon-Free Matching for Data Centers
A Google-backed battery storage pilot project in Texas has demonstrated the effectiveness of Battery Energy Storage Systems (BESS) in improving hourly carbon-free matching for data centers. The three-month pilot, undertaken by Quintrace, esVolta, and LevelTen Energy, aimed to prove that batteries can store surplus renewable energy and deliver it during hours when fossil-fuel generation is higher.
The project used hourly time-stamped Granular Certificates to allocate solar energy to grid-connected batteries and shifted it to hours when Google's energy consumption exceeded its renewable supply. The batteries charged and discharged a total of 9.2GWh during the respective windows.
According to Devin Hardman, chief commercial officer at esVolta, 'Batteries are set to play an important role in how companies shape their sustainable energy strategies.' He added that this pilot shows storage can be reliably dispatched and credited to match clean energy to demand on a granular hourly basis.