The wave of investments in energy storage systems is bringing a structural shift in how power plants and energy assets are operated, and companies must adopt energy management systems (EMS) to recover their investments and maximize revenues, said Sefa Keleş, Director of Software Engineering at PowerKonnekt.

“We are currently seeing a hype around energy storage systems. Everyone wants to install them, in the short, medium, or long term. But in order to properly utilize and monetize these assets, we need energy management systems,” said Keleş at the Energynomics conference “Regional Approach Istanbul: Investments in energy”.

According to him, many companies still confuse EMS with SCADA systems, which have been used in energy infrastructure for decades, despite major differences. A key capability of EMS is handling large volumes of data generated by batteries.

“We are talking about thousands or even tens of thousands of cells in a single storage system, and the system must collect data such as voltage and temperature every second. This data is essential, including for activating warranties provided by manufacturers,” he noted.

In addition, EMS enable automated energy trading based on market dynamics. Another major advantage is integration with other IT systems and the ability to operate geographically distributed assets. Cloud-based operation also allows multiple assets to be managed simultaneously from a single location, in a context where IT and OT systems are converging.

“We are entering a new era where IT and OT systems work together to manage the complexity brought by the growth of renewable capacity,” he added.

The conference “Regional Approach Istanbul” was organized by Energynomics, with the support of our partners: Elektra Renewable Support, 4P Renewables, Entek Elektrik, MyEnerji, PowerKonnekt, Solar Today.