In the last few years, the main focus that the EU has placed on industrial enterprises worldwide is the reduction of carbon neutrality. In support of SMEs and according to the “Recovery and Development Plan” in December 2022, an indicative project for “Construction of new RES for own consumption in combination with local energy storage facilities in enterprises” was published for public discussion. The expected opening of the program was scheduled for January, but to date this has not happened.
The concept of the program funding is to provide funds for the installation of electricity systems from renewable sources for own consumption (up to 1 MW), in combination with facilities for local storage of the produced energy, with an intermittent and non-uniform mode of operation.
Building photovoltaic installations with backup power is the perfect combination to power energy efficiency and sustainability of businesses. What are the advantages of building this type of installation?
- Improving energy sustainability
You can protect your business from the increasing number of power surge failures by immediately switching to PV-generated electricity. In fractions of a second, you can access carbon-free power to keep critical processes and equipment up and running, ensuring business continuity, even during extended power outages.
Businesses should consider the potential financial and wider business savings from the sustainability of PV with back-up power. The consequences of even the shortest interruption of the power supply can lead to damage or complete inability to start the equipment, which in turn leads to financial losses. Energy Resilience Reports show that 30% of industrial businesses have experienced power outages that have resulted in lost revenue. 23% reported equipment failure, and 9% reported a decline in company value. PV solutions with backup power can add another level of emergency power to critical facilities such as hospitals, data centers and sites of strategic importance. In other cases, batteries can replace traditional backup diesel generators.
- Increasing the value of solar energy
Solar energy is an abundant and environmentally friendly resource for generating renewable electricity during the day. Our experience shows that by storing excess generated electricity and then using it, flexibly and efficiently, at times of low production or peak demand, businesses can improve their financial results from solar energy produced by an average of 30-40%.
This translates into increased sustainability and cost savings from using more and cheaper renewable energy, compared to fossil fuels. Therefore, it improves the return on investment of both solar PV and batteries and can significantly increase the commercial viability of solar investments in the absence of subsidies and exposure to highly volatile wholesale energy markets.
- Reducing energy consumption
By using a back-up PV system, you can charge your batteries during off-peak periods, as well as at zero marginal cost when the sun is shining, allowing you to use stored energy at times when prices are peaking. This strategy can provide huge savings in operating costs and allows peak cost periods to be analyzed and forecasted. In this way, industrial enterprises can switch to battery power at the most suitable moment for the production process
- Monetize storage flexibility
The commercial case for building PV with standby power is also strengthened by the potential for profit by commercializing the available storage flexibility. The ultra-fast response time of today’s battery technologies makes them ideal for lucrative grid support services, such as dynamic fixed frequency response (dFFR), which requires a response time of two seconds. In addition, businesses can benefit from capacity that rewards assets for being available for dispatch during times of high system load. Although the current program does not give the opportunity to sell the produced electricity at a certain moment, the stored quantity has the additional possibility of serving to settle the imbalances between demand and supply.
- Reducing carbon emissions
By improving the use of available solar energy generated on site, battery storage contributes to reducing carbon emissions by reducing dependence on conventional fossil fuel production. At some point in the future, companies are improving their environmental requirements as well as being part of the environmental leaders.
To support SMEs in Bulgaria and according to the previously set criteria, the eligible candidates for receiving funding must be:
– merchants within the meaning of the Trade Act or the Cooperatives Act;
– registered no later than 31.12.2019;
– micro-, small and medium-sized enterprises within the meaning of Art. 3 and Art. 4 of the Law on Small and Medium Enterprises or
– small companies with an average market capitalization (up to 499 employees) and companies with an average market capitalization (up to 1500 employees);
– have requested support for their main economic activity according to the Classification of Economic Activities – KID-2008
Funding under the program is expected to reach up to 50%, depending on the region in which the company is registered. It is extremely important that the maximum amount of the requested grant funding for an individual investment proposal should NOT exceed:
– for micro-enterprises: 100% of the average annual net sales revenue realized by the applicant for the three-year period 2019, 2020 and 2021.
– for small businesses: 60% of the applicant’s average annual net sales revenue for the three-year period 2019, 2020 and 2021.
– for medium-sized enterprises, small mid-cap companies and mid-market cap companies: 25% of the applicant’s average annual net sales revenue for the three-year period 2019, 2020 and 2021.
The allowable costs for building a photovoltaic system up to 1 MW for own consumption in combination with facilities for local storage of the produced energy (batteries) can be the following:
– costs for the acquisition of long-lasting tangible assets;
– costs for the acquisition of long-term intangible assets (DNA);
– costs for construction and installation works on the roof/facade/adjacent property;
– expenses for consulting services of an engineering-technical nature.
Support at the level of an individual enterprise for the construction of electric power from RES for own consumption cannot exceed 1 MW.
The measure is aimed solely at solar photovoltaic energy and has as a mandatory element the acquisition of technologies and storage facilities, which contributes to the balance of the generated power and helps to overcome one of the disadvantages of renewable sources, namely the intermittent production.
If the application under the procedure “Construction of new renewable energy sources for own consumption in combination with local energy storage facilities in enterprises” is of interest to your enterprise, we can assist you with the following services:
At application stage
- To help you with the preparation of the technical and/or working project of the photovoltaic installation;
- To prepare a budget with the appropriate technological equipment and to estimate the parameters of the project – supply of solar panels, batteries and adjacent structures, installation and commissioning of the installation;
At the project implementation stage
- To deliver the technological equipment included in the project for the construction of the photovoltaic installation;
- To install the appropriate structure, solar panels, inverters and batteries;
- Let us put your PEP into operation and, if necessary, connect to the electricity network of the ERP
- To provide you with access to software for continuous monitoring of the operation of your power plant;
- To prepare the entire set of instructions, certificates and warranty conditions for reporting the activities on the constructed installation.
Contacts:
Do not hesitate to contact our specialist on email sales@atamiq.com or phone +359886163199
