Megabatteries convince industry to be more competitive
Cubierta Solar, a company specializing in self-consumption, notes the increase in projects in sectors such as textiles, ceramics and agri-food as a limiting measure to generate savings. The industry moves and bets on solar self-consumption with storage.
The instability of the energy market has become one of the main problems for Spanish industry. The reality surrounding electricity and gas prices is leaving a worrying mark on the competitiveness of different sectors, leading many companies to temporary layoffs.
This situation makes it essential to make a move. It is time to take measures to curb energy costs that have gone from representing 15% for some businesses to exceed 40%, according to Cubierta Solar, a company specializing in industrial photovoltaic self-consumption. And these measures involve a sustainable and innovative horizon: the one offered by photovoltaics, already very present in the industry, and the new energy storage systems. Batteries and mega-batteries are gaining ground in factories, with a constant trickle of projects in recent months.
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The spotlight is falling on systems such as 2 MWh megabatteries. This technology is already a reality in activities such as the textile industry, which is seeking to contain runaway electricity bills and which, together with subsidies – of up to 65% – are making the current moment the right one.
The equivalent of the power required by 500 homes
TexAthenea, one of the largest Spanish textile companies located in Villena (Alicante), is one of the first companies to have one of these mega-batteries. A storage system of 2 megawatt hours, the equivalent power required by 500 homes, which will increase its saving capacity and independence from the electricity grid.
The project, developed by Cubierta Solar, will allow the company to combine the benefits of this storage technology with the energy produced by the solar panels installed on the roof of its production center, nearly 4 MWp of clean energy. The company thus makes a qualitative leap in the way it produces by being able to store energy in those periods when prices are cheaper and then consume it in those periods when it cannot use photovoltaic energy or when the price of electricity is more expensive.
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Beating the grid with the sun’s support
Batteries represent a technological leap forward for the industry, offering significant benefits. For those companies that already have photovoltaic panels, batteries represent the possibility of storing the extra energy produced at peak generation times by the photovoltaic installation. This energy can be used in the morning or in the afternoon, as well as a supplement in those moments when the photovoltaic production does not match the consumption.
Among the most valued advantages is the ability to gain the pulse of the grid, achieving greater autonomy and maximizing savings, as well as flattening the production curve of the photovoltaic installation throughout the year.
These mega-batteries are six meters wide and weigh close to 30 tons, offering the possibility of having energy at 50% of the price of that offered by the conventional grid. These reasons, together with the subsidies, augur well for the near future of this technology.
A combined system to decarbonize companies such as the ceramics industry
In order to provide certain industries with a more personalized solution to this price situation, Cubierta Solar is already working with specialists in different fields on an alternative that combines different technologies and the sun. This makes photovoltaics an alternative heat source to gas and other fuels used in sectors such as ceramics.
The system proposed by Cubierta Solar is already being successfully implemented. A bet that has real examples, in which it has been decided to install or expand the photovoltaic, covering all the roofs of factories or even on rural land annexed installing a solar garden for self-consumption.
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From there, the gas drying or heating machinery has been replaced by other technologies such as infrared for drying and industrial aerothermics to raise the temperature of the water and steam boilers and electric furnaces applied to the ceramics sector. Technology that is powered by 100% renewable energy from the sun. Added to this are storage systems, high-capacity batteries, which cover energy needs at times when photovoltaics are not working, such as early in the morning or late at night.
The result: “to electrify all the factory’s consumption and decarbonize the company, leaving aside a fossil and more polluting energy, highly dependent on market fluctuations and international conflicts. We are replacing it with local, local, 100% renewable and sustainable energy,” explains Luis Navarro Buciega, director of Cubierta Solar.
Once the company opts for this system, it is guaranteed that it will not have variable expenses in energy consumption during the approximately 30 years of the installation’s useful life. A guarantee of supply and savings, and a decisive step towards sustainability that currently has significant subsidies. A step towards sustainability, but above all towards the competitiveness that comes from not being dependent on the market. The sun and technology come together to provide savings and stability.
