Battery energy storage system (BESS) – a battery and power conversion system that stores electricity for use later, so power is always on hand if needed.
Dispatchable resources – an electrical power system like a generator or a power plant that can be turned on or off. In contrast, most renewable energy sources are intermittent and non-dispatchable (wind/solar), which means they can only generate electricity while their energy source is present – like the sun shining or the wind blowing.
Distributed energy resources (DERs) – decentralised energy generation assets like solar and battery energy storage. It is a similar concept to harnessing distributed cloud computing versus a central mainframe computer.
Distributed generation – power that is generated locally rather than from a central power plant.
Demand response – a short-term, voluntary reduction in energy consumption triggered by the local utility operator to reduce network load in exchange for payment or credits.
Frequency regulation – dispatchable, fast-responding DERs such as BESS are used to maintain a frequency band on the utility grid.
Independent system operator (ISO) – an organisation that coordinates, controls and monitors the electrical power system in a given geographic area.
Peak demand charge – the highest average period, typically 15 minutes, of energy usage during a utility billing cycle. Charged at a £ per kW rate, it is sometimes the highest single line-item expense on a commercial energy bill.
Virtual power plant (VPP) – a network of decentralised distributed energy resources dispatched through central control to sell aggregated blocks of energy on the open market.
Environmental, social and governance (ESG) – a set of key non-financial performance indicators used to evaluate a business’s sustainability, ethical and corporate governance actions.
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