Electrical distributor Gexpro, Shelton, Conn., is moving into on-site power storage, a market that recently gained a lot of visibility with the announcement that Tesla will offer home-scale battery storage. Gexpro, a subsidiary of Rexel, Paris, will offer a battery energy storage solution (BESS) to commercial and industrial customers. The systems will allow customers “to optimize their energy consumption and reduce their energy bills by relying on their own energy system, thereby avoiding demand charges during high peak hours.”
The company is offering the battery storage system in conjunction with with Growing Energy Labs Inc. (Geli), Ideal Power and LG Chem. Geli provides the software, Ideal Power the inverters and LG Chem the lithium-ion batteries. Gexpro will be the system integrator using technology from each of the supplier companies.
The first Gexpro Battery Energy Storage Solution available to the North American marketplace will be a 30kW, 45kWh complete turnkey BESS for use in behind-the-meter demand charge reduction applications. A typical installation will use between one and eight 30kW BESS units in a commercial building with high peak loads such as retail, office buildings and schools.
“We are excited to provide the Geli Energy Operating System, Demand Charge Management Energy App, and Internet of Energy Platform to bring together world-class components and distribution to introduce a new model of delivering energy storage system solutions in packages designed for easy deployment by solar and energy developers,” said Dr. Ryan Wartena, CEO of Geli.
Here's an excellent piece from GreenTechMedia on Gexpro's ambitions, including quite a bit of insight on Geli: Behind-the-Meter Energy Storage Goes Wholesale