Neighborhood electricity storage: The future of energy supply

The energy transition is in full swing, and renewable energies such as solar and wind are becoming indispensable. However, these energy sources are not always available, which leads to fluctuations in the power grid. How can we ensure that the energy generated reaches you when you need it? This is where neighborhood storage comes into play. It is a smart solution for storing locally generated electricity, relieving the burden on the power grid, and ensuring a reliable energy supply for industrial areas and entire neighborhoods.

• Neighborhood storage facilities are central battery storage facilities that supply entire industrial neighborhoods or residential areas with electrical energy.
• They store excess electricity from renewable energies (PV electricity).
• These storage facilities relieve the burden on the public power grid and increase the security of supply in the neighborhood.
• They are an essential component for the successful implementation of the energy transition.
• Cell structure strengthens the resilience of the power grid

Neighborhood storage for electricity – basics and how it works

A neighborhood storage facility is essentially a large, shared, high-performance battery for an industrial district or an entire residential neighborhood. Instead of each company or household operating its own smaller storage facility, a central system pools the capacities.

These systems are essential for maximizing the self-consumption of locally generated solar power. They absorb excess energy when the sun is shining and release it again when it is needed. This not only stabilizes the local power grid, but also makes the neighborhood a little more independent from the public grid. This increases the availability and resilience of the local power supply. Below, you can learn more about how this technology works and its advantages.

How does a neighborhood storage facility for local energy supply work?

The way a neighborhood storage facility works is as simple as it is ingenious. On a sunny day, the photovoltaic systems in the neighborhood often produce more energy than industrial companies or households can consume at that moment. Instead of feeding this valuable solar power into the public grid for little money, it is temporarily stored directly in the central neighborhood storage facility.

When energy demand rises in the neighborhood due to production, cooking, or charging electric vehicles, the storage facility releases the previously collected energy back to consumers. This ensures that locally and cleanly generated electricity is used optimally on site. This process significantly increases the neighborhood's self-consumption.

Battery storage at the transformer station

The optimal location for a neighborhood storage facility is directly at the transformer station in the local grid. This is where all the energy flows in the neighborhood converge—both the feed-in from photovoltaic systems and the peak loads from consumers such as production lines, heat pumps, or charging infrastructure. Installing the storage facility at the transformer station stabilizes the grid voltage, reduces feed-back into the higher-level grid, and makes optimal use of local energy. In addition, this location enables efficient load management and relieves the cable and transformer infrastructure, thereby avoiding or delaying costly grid expansion measures. The storage system performs grid-related tasks such as peak shaving, reactive power provision, and frequency support, thereby contributing to security of supply and the integration of renewable energies. This makes the transformer station the best strategic location for integrating a neighborhood storage system.

Advantages of neighborhood storage facilities in Swiss industrial and residential areas

Neighborhood storage systems reduce energy and grid costs, increase the self-consumption of solar power where it is produced, and contribute to grid stability.

Contribution to grid stability and security of supply

A stable power grid is one of the most important foundations of our modern everyday lives. Neighborhood storage facilities ensure grid stability. They act as local buffers and balance out the difference between fluctuating power generation from solar systems and actual consumption.

This local balance significantly reduces the load on the higher-level power grid. The energy supplier does not have to react as quickly to sudden fluctuations, which prevents grid bottlenecks and increases overall supply security. For residents, this means a more reliable power supply that is less susceptible to disruptions.

Peak shaving: neighborhood storage facilities absorb peak loads

Have you ever heard of "peak shaving" ? This term describes one of the most important functions of neighborhood storage. Peak loads are short periods of extremely high electricity consumption, for example in the evening when everyone comes home, cooks, and charges their electric cars.

Normally, this additional electricity would have to be purchased at high cost from the public grid, which incurs high costs and puts strain on the grid. A neighborhood storage facility elegantly solves this problem: it supplies the energy required during these peak times directly from the battery storage facility. This avoids the need to purchase peak load electricity, which is expensive and puts strain on the grid.

The advantages of peak shaving are manifold:

• Cost savings: Expensive electricity rates during peak load times are avoided
• Grid relief: Local infrastructure such as cables and transformers is spared
• Balancing energy: The amount of balancing energy that grid operators must supply is reduced.

Smart cells: the power grid of the future

The future of the power grid is decentralized and intelligent. Instead of a rigid, centralized system, more and more "smart cells" are emerging. A neighborhood with its own power generation through photovoltaics and a central neighborhood storage facility is a perfect example of such a cell.

This concept envisages local energy communities covering a large part of their own needs and operating largely autonomously (ZEV, vZEV, LEG). However, these cells are not isolated islands. They remain connected to the large power grid and can interact with it intelligently – either to feed in surplus energy or to draw power when needed. Intelligent cells in the power grid structure are the next logical step in the development of our energy system.

The role of photovoltaics and intelligent control in neighborhood storage

A neighborhood storage facility alone is only half the battle. It only reaches its full potential when combined with photovoltaic systems and intelligent control. The PV systems on the roofs provide clean energy, but their production depends on the weather and the time of day.

This is where intelligent control comes into play (Energy Management System EMS). It is the brain of the system and ensures that the solar power generated is used optimally. The EMS decides in real time whether the electricity is consumed directly, temporarily stored in the storage unit, or fed into the grid. This perfect interaction is the key to maximum efficiency and cost-effectiveness.

Intelligent control mechanisms and energy management

What exactly does "intelligent control" mean in the context of neighborhood storage? It refers to a sophisticated energy management system (EMS) that connects and optimizes all components of the local energy grid. This control system acts like a conductor directing an orchestra of generators, storage facilities, and consumers.

The system continuously analyzes data such as current solar power production, consumption, the charge status of the storage unit, and even weather forecasts. Based on this information, it makes the best possible decisions to manage energy flows. The goal is always to optimize self-consumption and maximize cost-effectiveness.

Intelligent energy management performs the following tasks, among others:

• Prioritization of self-consumption: Solar power is used first in the neighborhood
• Predictive charging: The storage unit is charged when electricity is cheap and plentiful.
• Coordination: The system communicates with larger producers and loads and shows consumers when sufficient energy is available and when it needs to be drawn from the grid in order to coordinate everything perfectly.

Load management instead of grid expansion

Efficient load management is an innovative solution that reduces the need for extensive grid expansion. Neighborhood storage facilities enable targeted control of energy consumption, which helps absorb peak loads. This strategic use of renewable energy from photovoltaic systems not only helps meet demand, but also actively prevents bottlenecks in the power grid. In this way, they make a decisive contribution to grid stability and open up new economic perspectives.

42technology – Your experienced partner for modern energy solutions and neighborhood storage

We develop and implement innovative concepts for energy efficiency, neighborhood storage, electricity storage, combined heat and power plants (CHP), and emergency power systems. With our solutions, you can reduce peak loads, intelligently control energy demand, and sustainably improve the security of supply in your neighborhood.

We provide reliable support from planning and consulting to implementation and maintenance. Become energy independent and gain a decisive competitive advantage with our efficient neighborhood storage solutions.

FAQ (frequently asked questions about neighborhood electricity storage)