Optimize BESS Performance by Recovering Lost Energy

Even a small 1% improvement in BESS availability can increase revenue by $2000 per MW per year. However, many battery systems lose energy due to preventable issues like imbalances, weak cells or non-operational components. With our new features, the KPIs "Usable Energy" and "Recoverable Energy", BESS owners and operators can easily identify energy losses, take corrective actions and maximize system performance.

Getting to the Root Cause of Poor Performance and Availability

BESS performance and availability have a major impact on revenue. An asset manager working at a US-based IPP shared, “The first thing we do when we see that revenue is going down is look at availability”. Data from Modo Energy also shows a clear connection between availability and revenue: 1% of additional availability is worth around 2k$/MW/year in the UK or ERCOT markets (source). However, understanding why performance issues occur and what steps to take next is a persistent challenge.

We wanted to make it easy for our customers to understand root causes of poor performance and availability and know what actions to take to solve these issues.

Usable and Recoverable Energy Explained

With TWAICE's new KPIs, Usable and Recoverable energy, customers get an overview of how much energy is currently available to be used, and how much is recoverable, i.e. can be regained if problems are fixed. Recommendations about how to fix these problems are also provided.

Usable Energy: How Much Energy Can Your BESS Deliver Right Now?

Usable energy is expressed in percentage points (%) and megawatt-hours (MWh) and helps to answer the question, “How many MWh is my system currently capable of delivering?”

It is influenced by multiple factors:

• Aging reduces energy capacity over time. This loss is irrecoverable and results from the unavoidable degradation of battery cells.
• Weak cells may limit performance due to manufacturing differences, defects, or abnormal degradation. Identifying and addressing weak cells can restore energy.
• Imbalances in the system occur when the state of charge (SoC) varies significantly across components. Since individual, highly imbalanced components can limit overall system performance, resolving imbalances can help recover energy.
• Non-operational components reduce usable energy. If strings or racks are down, restoring them can immediately improve the usable energy.

Usable energy ultimately provides a status of how much energy your system is currently delivering and represents how much energy can be recovered.

Recoverable Energy: How Much Energy Is Lost but Still Recoverable?

Recoverable energy identified energy that can be restored by fixing issues like weak cells, imbalances or offline components – helping you unlock additional performance without major hardware replacements.

How to Optimize Performance with TWAICE's Recoverable and Usable Energy KPIs

With usable and recoverable energy, you have the transparency to understand why your BESS isn’t delivering as expected without having to spend hours of time carrying out manual analysis.

• Get a clear overview of total usable and recoverable energy (MWh and %)
• Identify which nodes and strings have the highest amount of recoverable energy
• Receive specific recommendations, for example to fix imbalances, weak cells or offline components
• Compare performance trends month-over-month to track improvements

In the TWAICE user interface, usable, recoverable and lost energy are displayed as percentages. The total usable energy and recoverable energy are also displayed in MWh, showing a comparison to the previous month, helping you to track progress. Below, a list of nodes are displayed with the highest amount of recoverable energy, and you can easily dig deeper to see which strings have the highest amount of recoverable energy. Here, you see a recommendation of action to carry out to improve this.

Step-By-Step Guide with TWAICE Energy Storage Analytics

1. ‍‍Go to the Performance Manager and open the Usable Energy dashboard
2. See % of usable vs recoverable energy at a glance
3. Identify nodes with the highest optimization potential– start with the top ones
4. Drill down into the strings that need action and follow the recommended fixes

Why You Should Use TWAICE's Usable and Recoverable Energy KPIs

The amount of energy a BESS can deliver directly impacts revenue from performance-based contracts and trading activities. Limited or non-operating strings can result in missed energy delivery opportunities, reducing profitability for asset managers who rely on consistent system performance. With usable and recoverable energy, asset managers, performance engineers and O&M teams can:

• Increase revenue by restoring lost energy
• Optimize performance with insights and tailored recommendations
• Take proactive action to prevent imbalances and system inefficiencies.

Want to learn more? Ask our experts in a 1:1 demo!