Second-life EV batteries are being used in pilots around the world to demonstrate their suitability for a wide variety of stationary storage applications. California company B2U Storage Solutions is using repurposed Nissan LEAF batteries in a commercial operation. The company has been bidding into the California power market for over a year, and is earning some respectable revenue, thank you.

B2U’s solar/storage facility is located in Lancaster, California, on the edge of the Mojave Desert. It consists of a 1 MW solar farm and several small structures, each containing around 20 LEAF batteries, all in their original cases.

The battery array currently offers 4 MWh of storage, and can deliver 2.75 MW of power. The batteries are charged by the solar farm at times when energy prices are low, typically mornings. At peak usage times, when prices climb, the batteries discharge their energy to the grid.

In a recent video from Canary Media, B2U CEO Freeman Hall says his company is making “good money.” In the summer, the facility sells energy for as much as $200 per MWh, and charges the batteries at a cost of about $25/MWh. “Then you have energy sales—as you have intermittency and unexpected price spikes, we can capture that with our trading strategies in the wholesale market,” Hall tells Canary Media. “We also sell capacity into the market, and some ancillary services.”

Mr. Hall expects his business model to become more profitable as the supply of used batteries grows, and B2U is already expanding its facility.

Source: Canary Media