Understanding how batteries perform within the wider power system
Storage is still a relatively young technology, and many operators lack a clear understanding of battery storage performance within the wider power system and how behaviour affects overall portfolio value.
Operators increasingly need to identify where value is being lost, whether through curtailment, inefficient charging strategies, equipment underperformance, battery degradation, or fragmented data, and understand how those losses affect revenue, portfolio performance, and long-term returns.
Storage often remains a blind spot compared to solar
Storage remains a blind spot for many operators compared to solar, particularly when it comes to understanding battery health, warranty performance, and issues that can affect long-term value.
At the same time, storage introduces a fundamentally more complex operational model. Unlike solar, which is primarily performance-focused, storage requires operators to manage performance, safety, and warranty considerations simultaneously. It also demands continuous monitoring, with higher data volumes and a broader range of KPIs, including efficiency, availability, and contractual metrics.
In addition, contracts and revenue streams are often more complex and multi-layered, making it more difficult to understand whether storage assets are delivering their full commercial value.
With storage, operators must consider:
- When to store energy
- When to export energy
- The market value of energy at different points in time
- How these decisions affect battery health, revenue, and long-term asset value
The risks of applying a solar or wind mindset to storage
Operators often apply a solar or wind mindset to storage, leading to misunderstandings around battery storage performance, availability, and acceptable losses. In solar, underperformance may be due to external factors, whereas in storage, low performance typically indicates an internal issue. Even small imbalances can have significant financial consequences, while overly conservative operation, for example, restricting state of charge ranges, can reduce overall value.
The value of storage is often underestimated because losses are not always visible, but they can be very significant. As an example, for a 100 MW asset, a 2% availability shortfall can translate into roughly €240,000 annually in recoverable value; provided operators have the data and analytics needed to identify and substantiate the loss.
A deeper insight into how batteries behave to capture the full value of solar + storage
Battery storage creates new opportunities to increase flexibility and revenue, but it also introduces long-term value considerations. Operating strategies can influence degradation, warranty performance, and future usable capacity, making it important to balance short-term commercial gains with long-term asset value.
To capture the full value of solar + storage, operators need deeper insight into how batteries behave. This includes tracking State of Health, monitoring degradation and warranty performance, managing State of Charge, and avoiding battery overuse.
At the same time, managing assets separately can limit the ability to make more informed and commercially optimal decisions. Near real-time alerts and alarms enable operators to identify and address issues sooner, supporting a shift from reactive monitoring to proactive asset management.
The most important storage metrics
- State of Health (SoH) determines how much usable capacity the battery retains over time. Lower SoH reduces the amount of energy that can be stored and discharged, directly impacting value.
- State of Charge (SoC) determines how much energy is available at a given moment. Poor visibility into SoC can lead to underutilization or missed revenue opportunities.
- Cycling behaviour influences degradation and asset lifetime. Excessive or aggressive cycling can accelerate degradation and reduce long-term value.
- Round-trip efficiency affects how much energy can be recovered from storage, influencing overall portfolio performance.
- Availability and alarms provide early indicators of operational issues, helping teams identify risks before they affect performance, safety, or warranties.
Questions asset managers should be asking
Key questions include:
- Is battery performance meeting expectations and, if not, what is limiting it?
- Are we managing State of Charge effectively?
- Do we understand the current and future State of Health of our batteries?
- Are dispatch and operating strategies maximizing lifetime value or unnecessarily accelerating degradation?
- Are we tracking warranty and contractual obligations accurately?
- Are safety risks being identified before they escalate?
- Are we balancing short-term revenue opportunities against long-term battery health and asset value?
Read more in our recent article about the solar and storage metrics and KPIs that matter most for hybrid portfolios.
Download DNV’s report ‘Improving performance and maximizing value: solar + storage’ for an opportunity to dive deeper into this topic.
The importance of safety and thermal-management risks
Beyond performance and revenue optimization, safety represents a critical and often underappreciated dimension. Inadequate thermal management can create localized hotspots that accelerate degradation and increase the risk of thermal runaway propagation. If not addressed early, issues such as cooling failures, sensor faults, or overloaded strings can quickly escalate into prolonged outages, costly repairs, reduced asset value, and potential risks to people, property, and the environment.
Quickly identifying underperformance through GPM Horizon
GPM Horizon provides a unified view of solar, storage, and hybrid portfolios, helping operators quickly identify underperformance and understand which technology is driving it. By bringing hybrid and non-hybrid assets into a single platform, teams can simplify complex data, gain more actionable insights, and better understand energy flows across their portfolios.
By providing a consistent source of truth across technologies, GPM Horizon supports faster prioritization, more confident decision-making, and a clearer understanding of both operational and financial performance.
Conclusion
Battery storage is creating new opportunities to increase flexibility, manage curtailment, and get more value from renewable energy portfolios. However, it also introduces new operational, technical, safety, and commercial considerations that cannot be managed using a traditional solar mindset alone.
As storage deployment accelerates, understanding battery storage performance within the wider power system is becoming increasingly important. Asset owners need visibility into battery health, degradation, availability, operating strategies, warranty performance, and safety risks, as well as a clear understanding of how these factors influence value. By combining deeper battery analytics with portfolio-level visibility, operators can move beyond reactive monitoring and capture the full value of solar + storage throughout the asset lifecycle.
Discuss your challenges with our renewable energy experts
Looking to reduce revenue leakage, identify losses earlier, or gain a clearer understanding of portfolio performance? Our renewable energy experts can discuss your specific challenges, share insights on best practices, or show you how GPM Horizon can support your operations. Contact us to arrange a conversation or organize a demo of GPM Horizon.
