Teet Kukk, founder of Soleron
Article published in Äripäev
People talk about energy storage and batteries everywhere right now. It feels like every factory should order a battery immediately. But here is the problem. Even though battery prices have dropped nearly 90 percent over the past decade, buying the wrong equipment is still a very expensive mistake.
There is another trap. Companies often invest just because the government offers a grant. A discounted battery does not automatically mean the company actually needs it. You should never start an investment by just picking out a device. You need to understand the actual problem you are trying to solve first.
When is buying a battery actually justified?
Here is how it works. See if you recognize your company in the following points.
Leveling peak loads
If your production has short but massive consumption spikes, a battery helps balance this load. This keeps network fees permanently lower.
A solar park on the roof
At midday, a solar park often produces more electricity than the building consumes. A battery stores the surplus. This helps save costs when electricity is expensive. At the same time, keep in mind that even an empty roof does not mean an immediate need for panels. A solar project must always be based on real data.
Avoiding power outages
In some factories, a brief power outage ruins the entire batch or halts machines for hours. A battery keeps critical processes running in such situations.
Shifting consumption
You cannot just turn machines on and off hoping for a cheaper rate. That is exactly the point. Energy management does not mean stopping the factory to save a few euros. Production sets the limits, and automation simply looks for the most favorable time within those limits.
A storage solution only truly pays off when one device does multiple jobs. Simply buying cheap and selling expensive electricity is no longer enough. If the battery is not actively helping the facility, it can join a virtual power plant. Essentially, devices from many companies are connected into one large network that supports the balance of the power system. This way, unused capacity turns into a service you can sell on the reserve market.
The right decision starts with data
People often ask us what the exact payback time of the system is. I will be honest, predicting battery returns is about the same as predicting a stock portfolio. Nobody knows exactly what the electricity price will be in five years. That is why the system needs flexibility.
The final answer always comes from numbers. You need to take the consumption history of the last year and study the patterns with an accuracy of 15 minutes. Only data will reveal whether the solution is a battery, smarter energy management, or just a standard backup generator. This analysis may also end with the conclusion that a storage solution is not needed at all right now.
We at Soleron are not desperately looking for buyers for batteries. We help find the right technology based on real numbers. This might work for you too.
Book an analysis of your consumption and production data, and we will check exactly what is actually needed.
