What are the commissioning activities of an energy storage system (ESS)?

Commissioning is required by the owner to ensure proper operation for the system warranty to be valid. The activities relative to the overall design / build of an energy storage system (ESS) are described next. The details of the commissioning activities are described in Section 2. Figure 1. Overall flow of ESS initial project phases

What is a commissioning plan?

Commissioning is a required process in the start-up of an energy storage system. This gives the owner assurance that the system performs as specified. A Commissioning Plan prepared and followed by the project team can enable a straightforward and timely process, ensuring safe and productive operation following handoff.

How does commissioning work?

Commissioning offers sequential gated reviews that investigate responses to component and system level behavior, which is then documented in reports on the technical performance. The general flow of the initial phases of an energy storage project implementation process (assuming a design build contract strategy) is shown in Figure 1.

Do energy storage systems need a safety assessment?

Safety Assessment: As more energy storage systems have become operational, new safety features have been mandated through various codes and standards, professional organizations, and learned best practices. The design and commissioning teams need to stay current so that required safety assessments can be performed during commissioning.

What happens during the design phase of a metering system?

During the design phase, the system must be designed so that all necessary tests can be performed with appropriate metering, data point identification and location, and access to the data. During this phase, the commissioning team develops the plan and confirms the change process.

Do energy storage subsystems have to pass a factory witness test?

Each subsystem must pass a factory witness test (FWT) before shipping. (Note: The system owner reserves the right to be present for the factory witness test.) This is the first real step of the commissioning process—which occurs even before the energy storage subsystems (e.g., power conditioning equipment and battery) are delivered to the site.