"At Convergent, our Operations isn't just about keeping the lights on; We’re here to unlock the full potential of energy storage systems to drive efficiency, reliability, and sustainability for our customers."
- Don Jenkins, Chief Operating Officer, Convergent
Energy storage systems (typically in the form of battery storage) are essential for a resilient and reliable power grid—and effective system operations are key to ensuring these systems deliver maximum value. At Convergent Energy and Power (Convergent), our Operations Team is at the forefront of the strategies and tactics that help our energy storage and solar PV systems achieve optimal performance and maximum value.
How do we do this? Convergent is one of the original players in the energy storage market—the company is as old as (or older than!) the sector itself. Now, we have over 650,000 hours of system operations and optimization experience behind us, which allows us to make data-driven, experience-led decisions about how to optimize performance.
As Convergent CEO Johannes Rittershausen likes to say, “a battery system that is not effectively operated is just a giant paperweight.” The value of the system is in the operation of it.
In this blog, we will explore how optimal operations can help businesses and utilities maximize the value of a battery storage system to reduce energy costs and increase reliability.
Quick Review: Energy Storage 101 (skip if you know this already!)
Energy storage systems allow electricity to be stored—and then discharged—at the most strategic times. Today, Lithium-ion batteries, the same batteries that are used in cell phones and electric vehicles, are the most commonly used type of energy storage. Like the batteries in your cell phone, commercial-, industrial-, and utility-scale battery energy storage systems can be charged with electricity from the grid, stored, and discharged when there is a deficit in supply or when energy is most expensive.
Increasingly, battery storage systems are being pared with solar PV, known as solar-plus-storage.
Batteries do not generate power; batteries store power. As a result, knowing when to charge and discharge a battery storage system is critical. In most cases, this means charging when energy is least expensive and discharging when energy is most expensive.
PEAK IQ®: Energy Storage Intelligence
The decision about when to charge—and discharge—a battery storage system is determined by both intrinsic and extrinsic factors (e.g., customer load characteristics, utility rate tariffs, wholesale market pricing, grid peak times, and weather forecasts).
Convergent’s proprietary PEAK IQ® intelligence co-optimizes millions of data points to maximize value creation by combining human ingenuity with machine learning, artificial intelligence, and advanced analytics to make data-driven decisions about when and how to dispatch our battery storage systems.
PEAK IQ® co-optimizes millions of datapoints to determine an optimal dispatch strategy to maximize value across several categories including:
✔️ Energy Arbitrage
✔️ Capacity (Local & System)
✔️ Solar / Renewables Firming
✔️ Infrastructure Deferral (Non-Wires Alternative Program Compliance)
✔️ Ancillary Services (Frequency Regulation, Operating Reserves)
✔️ Coincident Peak (CP) Demand Charge Avoidance (“Peak Hitting”)
Non-Coincident Peak (NCP) Demand Charge Avoidance (“Load Management”)However, optimizing battery storage system operations is about more than software—it’s also about the people who develop that software and those who support system operations in other, key ways.
Where does the term “PEAK IQ®” Come From?
Grid peaks typically occur during the hottest hours of the hottest days, driven by high temperatures and HVAC loads, making warmer months (May through September) “peak season.” One primary usage for battery storage is often referred to as “peak power shaving,” which involves predicting grid peaks and dispatching a battery storage system during those critical times.
This strategic management—dispatching the battery at peak hours—is termed “peak power shaving,” “peak chasing,” or “peak hitting,” allowing businesses and utilities to reduce their dependence on the electric grid during times of high demand.
While there are other ways to derive value from a battery storage system beyond “peak shaving,” the warmer months are often the busiest season for our Operations Team!
Speaking of the Operations Team …
Operational Excellence: The Key Responsibilities That Contribute to Our Success
Our Operations Team is a network of specialized departments that are dedicated to maximizing performance, reliability, and safety across our systems. Some of those departments include:
EHS: The Environmental Health & Safety (EH&S) team upholds rigorous safety and environmental standards, fostering a proactive “ownership” safety culture by collaborating across the organization.
Network Operations: The Network Operations Center (NOC) provides 24/7 monitoring and operations of our systems. The NOC uses predictive analytics to optimize battery storage system dispatch and enhance system performance in real-time.
Field Operations: The Field Operations team brings extensive experience in preventive maintenance, routinely servicing systems to maintain peak efficiency, and planning strategic capacity augmentations to ensure long-term reliability.
Portfolio Management and Compliance: The Portfolio Management and Compliance departments ensure compliance with regulatory standards, prepare monthly performance reports, and coordinate financial processes for stable operations.
IT: The Information Technology team leads network engineering and cybersecurity measures, enabling successful management of distributed energy assets and safeguarding of our systems from potential threats.
Data Science and Engineering: The Data Science and Engineering team provide the expertise and technical capability to build our PEAK IQ® system that enables all our data-driven decision making.
Together, these departments create a resilient operational framework that minimizes risk, maximizes system availability, and builds trust—advancing Convergent’s mission to lead in energy storage solutions and support the clean energy transition.
Start Saving and Plan for the Future. Connect with Convergent.
Convergent’s PEAK IQ® energy storage intelligence—and its Operations Team—is creating maximum value for our customers. We have saved businesses up to 40% off their electricity bills and deferred multimillion infrastructure upgrades for utilities
For over a decade, Convergent has gained deep expertise by working closely with businesses, communities, and utilities to take the hassle out of on-site renewables by financing, building, owning, and operating these systems on our customers’ behalf.
If you’re looking to significantly lower your energy costs with an on-site battery storage or solar-plus-storage system), schedule a free, no-obligation introductory call with our team today.