Commercial Battery Storage

Why Add Storage to a Commercial Project

Without a battery, any solar generation your facility doesn't use in real time is sold back to the grid at your utility's export rate, which is often lower than what you'd otherwise pay to buy that power back later. In British Columbia, for example, BC Hydro's Self-Generation Service Rate pays a flat 10¢ per kWh for exported power with no more year-round credit banking as of July 2026. A battery lets you store that generation and use it yourself instead, which is typically worth more than the export credit.

Storage also opens up demand shaving (see our dedicated demand-shaving page) and backup power during outages, two capabilities a pure grid-tied solar system without storage cannot provide.

How We Size a Commercial Battery

Sizing depends on the goal: a battery sized for demand shaving is optimized for power output (kW) to cover your facility's peak spike, while a battery sized for backup power is optimized for energy capacity (kWh) to cover a target number of hours. Most commercial systems balance both, using your facility's interval data and consumption profile as the starting point rather than a rule-of-thumb ratio to your solar array size.

Equipment

Commercial-grade lithium battery systems paired with three-phase inverters, engineered for continuous commercial-duty cycling, remote monitoring, and integration with existing electrical infrastructure and any solar array already on site.

Incentives

Battery energy storage systems are eligible clean technology property under the federal Clean Technology ITC (up to 30%, refundable) and typically qualify for accelerated CCA depreciation alongside solar equipment. See our national incentives page for the full breakdown.

Frequently Asked Questions