Demystifying BESS Operations

Chris, how did you end up working in the BESS industry?

I’ve been in the energy industry most of my career, starting in conventional power generation. I was looking for a new challenge and I saw how the industry was changing —more solar, wind, and distributed generation. It seemed like a good fit given my background as an electrical engineer. I had some experience with lead-acid battery systems for power plants, so it was interesting to see new battery technologies emerge. I wanted to be a part of that and grow with it.

I started working with an integrator back in 2017, in the early days of storage. We covered everything from software and hardware design, to construction and commissioning, essentially filling in whatever gaps were needed to get projects done. Now I’m on the developer/ owner/ operator side of the table, working to keep systems performing well both technically and financially.

What are your main roles and responsibilities as a performance engineer at Fullmark?

The main focus of performance engineering is monitoring the data coming off the system, verifying that it’s operating properly, and translating that into the market side: optimizing when to charge and discharge for revenue and meet market requirements. We have a variety of information to process and make decisions that impact how the systems will operate daily. I help bridge the gap between what the equipment can do and what the market expects.

There’s also the usual performance metrics to evaluate - capacity, availability, and round-trip efficiency. I am also involved in discussions with existing or potential vendors and service providers, helping with commissioning and supporting other parts of the business.

Do you work closely with asset management and O&M teams?

I am part of the asset management and operations team at Fullmark. As I’m watching the system’s performance, I provide input to our O&M service providers, like flagging issues for them to investigate, or to reset equipment remotely, or take actions to get equipment back online. I’m providing outside support and guidance —diagnosing problems or pointing them in the right direction to get performance improvements.

What are some of the biggest challenges you see with operating BESS?

The industry is still maturing. It’s going from a new and unproven technology to something that’s reliable, well-understood, and can be serviced and maintained. Early systems were more difficult to operate and service, like any new technology. However, service organizations weren’t set up to properly support deployed systems. A lot of expertise was held by individuals and not institutionalized.

From my perspective, just getting access to full system data and interpreting it was tough. I don’t want to click through numerous screens to download a CSV and then have to post-process it. I want to do a couple of clicks on a dashboard to get me what I need. When it comes to market operations, speed and accuracy are crucial.

Some providers are trying to offer analytics or sell data back to owners, but there’s no clear industry standard for how to do that. There’s also hesitancy by some equipment suppliers to be transparent. Perhaps transparency may expose their performance shortfalls. Long-term, data transparency would help improve products, so I hope it become the norm.

Is that what led you to look for third-party analytics?

Exactly. I needed a solution. I wasn’t going to build a data pipeline, write ETL code, and build dashboards myself. That’s a big undertaking as an individual. It would require a team of several people – and not just software expertise, you need deep battery knowledge too. It would take several years. So “buy” made more sense than “build.”

What are the main benefits you’ve seen from working with TWAICE so far?

It’s easier to get a clearer picture of day-to-day system performance. I can click through dashboards and quickly get a feel for what’s going on without exporting data or staring at various screens for ages. The visuals make it easy to assess whether issues are real or just sensor anomalies. It adds intelligence to our decisions.

What’s your routine using TWAICE Analytics today?

I wouldn’t say I have a strict routine yet, but in the mornings, I go through various system interfaces, and TWAICE is one of them. I check for alerts–like temperature or voltage issues–check the history of sensors or strings, and determine whether issues require immediate attention or whether they can be addressed during the next scheduled check-up. I also look at capacity breakdown, stranded vs. available capacity, and balancing (when to do it, how often). Balancing has always been a bit of a black box.

How have you found the collaboration with the TWAICE team?

It’s been great so far. The team was very patient during onboarding. Getting access to our own data was harder than expected, and they really helped. They’ve been responsive to questions and open to adjusting the interface or adding features. I haven’t needed support for legal or warranty issues, but I know they’ll be helpful if I do.

TWAICE is a demystifying tool–not just the software, but the support too. The industry isn’t service focused, but with TWAICE, I can reach out and tap into a deep pool of expertise. They know storage and battery analytics. Even for operational questions about BESS behavior or trends, the support is there when I need it.

Do you see any specific challenges around operating a BESS in CAISO?

CAISO is still evolving with how batteries are expected operate. They don’t always factor in derating when the battery is at high or low state of charge (SoC). They expect full power delivery within the full SoC range, but that’s not always realistic. TWAICE’s new penalty risk dashboard helps by showing our SoC limits for full-power operation so we can avoid penalties. I used to do this manually, but now it’s much quicker and easier to visualize.

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