Blue Planet
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For businesses operating on large energy loads, renewables like solar have become a popular option for lowering demand charges and utility bills. However, energy storage is now taking the spotlight as the true asset in controlling energy costs. The clear financial savings, an initial draw for many in the commercial and industrial (C&I) sector, is now coupled with new sustainability mandates such as environmental, social, and governance (ESG) reporting. As such, research firm Wood Mackenzie anticipates the global storage market to grow an average of 31 percent a year until 2030.

Energy storage has become increasingly popular as advancements in lithium-ion technology have made batteries more affordable, reliable, and safer than ever before. Not only are more energy storage systems being installed, but the size of the systems are often also becoming larger. Many installers who are accustomed to installing smaller, residential backup power systems are being required to complete entirely off-grid and microgrid-islanding systems. This means installing more battery cabinets and more inverters at one site.

Not all batteries are created equal, and not all batteries make sense – in capabilities or price point – for every customer. To help sort among your options, this Battery Showcase provides a snapshot of what several of the top battery suppliers are offering in the residential and small commercial segments right now.

With the nearest utility pole roughly 1,200 feet away, the equivalent of about three football fields, powering this Northern California home’s water supply with a fully off-grid system was the clear environmental and economical choice. Given that close to a million customers of local utility, Pacific Gas and Electric (PG&E), lost power between August and October of 2020 due to potential wildfire hazards, solar and storage expert Nick Lucchese of Lucchese Solar and his client knew the considerable benefits to a fully off-grid lifestyle. However, his client had been let down in the past with unreliable and polluting fossil fuel-powered generators as well as difficult to maintain lead acid battery banks.

Blue Planet Energy celebrated its sixth anniversary as a company by reincorporating and rebranding as Blue Planet Energy Systems, Inc. - a Public Benefit Corporation. The benefit corporation designation ensures that our mission is embedded in our company DNA, our very governance documents, using a form of corporation that prioritizes multiple stakeholders in the success of a company.

After nearly fifteen years of successfully running their eighty acre certified organic coffee farm in South Kona, Hawaii, Robert and Dawn Barnes and Craig and Mary Kay Wattles decided to build a new 8,000 square foot mill to keep up with the high demand for their products. The owners sought to power their farm, mill and roastery entirely from renewable sources to align with their core company principle of sustainability.