Buildings as a grid: the foundation for resilience and decarbonization

The race to optimize energy costs is just the beginning

A recent report from Aurora Energy Research found that developing the EV infrastructure to support millions of vehicles could amount to a €14 billion opportunity in the UK and Germany alone. The report also confirmed that onsite renewable solar arrays provide a major boost to the underlying business case.

When building owners seize the opportunity to invest in local solar generation and EV charging points, flexibility becomes crucial to balance local generation with variable loads. Onsite energy storage, like our xStorage systems or green hydrogen, as well as sophisticated energy management software, is needed to match intermittent renewable generation to demand and ensure resilient building power.

However, these solutions don’t just allow building owners to monetize EV charging and to drive cost savings by maximizing solar self-consumption and reducing peak demand charges. They also unleash the ability to generate even more revenue. Building owners can effectively monetize their assets by not only reselling excess power, but also by helping utility operators stabilize the power system and avoid the need for costly grid reinforcement.

Earning from intelligent power management

With the right combination of onsite hardware and energy management software, buildings can intelligently respond to the needs of the grid: ramping power consumption up or down to optimize the use of renewable energy and to help prevent outages.

We can bring the benefits to life by looking at one specific vertical: data centers. Uptime and reliability are crucial for these facilities, so uninterruptible power supplies (UPS) are a prerequisite for doing business. Our EnergyAware UPS solution turns this necessary investment into a revenue stream, effectively monetizing ‘sleeping’ assets. We put data center operators in control of their power consumption, letting them choose how much capacity to offer, when, and at what price, while helping energy providers balance demand. Grid operators will pay well for this essential new source of flexibility.

With environmental, financial, and pragmatic factors all now pushing building owners and grid operators in this direction, there’s little doubt today’s buildings will become tomorrow’s energy hubs—one building at a time.