Battery Storage (BESS) Safety Fundamentals

July 22-23, 2024 | Online

If you are unable to attend at the scheduled date and time, we make recordings available to all registrants for seven days after the event

“We are in the process of building our first 20MW BESS. This session provides lots of background information for safety in design, operating and maintenance, and emergency preparedness.” Senior Apparatus Engineer, SaskPower

“Great course to learn of the governing codes & standards and what they require.” Assistant Mechanical Engineer, NYPA

“The course content was very informative. We will use it for scoping, design and operation of our upcoming battery storage facilities.” Substation Maintenance Engineer, Portland General Electric

“Very knowledgeable on topic with relevant examples and real-life scenarios.” Corporate Safety, Consumers Energy

Battery energy storage systems (BESS) are now in widespread use for a variety of applications, such as frequency regulation, demand response, transmission and distribution infrastructure deferral, integration of renewable energy, and microgrids.

Yet, as storage deployment proliferates in the utility and power system mainstream, gaps in safety practices for energy storage have become apparent. The most ubiquitous storage technology, lithium-ion batteries – though generally safe — have been linked to fire, explosion, and hazardous material exposure under several conditions.

This course will give attendees a thorough grounding in the basics of safe battery storage such as:

Hazards and operating risks associated with battery storage

Different battery types

Updated safety standards

How to design and operate for safety

Testing standards

Decommissioning/recycling

Learning Outcomes

Review the different types of battery storage

Identify the different types of safety hazards for batteries

Review the hazards associated with each type of battery

Discuss the testing standards and certifications for safety

Discuss how to design for safety and operating safely

Examine installation measures for batteries

Explain how to safely operate battery storage

Describe decommissioning & removal practices

Agenda

MONDAY, JULY 22, 2024

9:00 a.m. – 4:30 p.m. : CENTRAL TIME

Two 15-minute breaks will be taken over the course of the day

9:00 – 9:15 a.m. :: Overview and Introductions

Quick Review of Battery Types

Storage wheel

Batteries and their uses by chemistry

Lithium-Ion chemistries

Other commercially available batteries

Battery Safety Hazards

Leakage and spills

Stray voltage

Off-gassing

Thermal runaway

Toxic fumes

Hazardous Waste

Power quality

Weather related hazards

Other

Battery Type vs. Hazard

Which battery types have which hazards

Variations in a chemical family (e.g. Li-Ion)

Standards That Apply to Safety

NFPA 855 – 2023 and draft of 2026

NFPA (NEC) 70

NERC-related standards

UL-related standards

IEEE 1625

IEEE 1725

ISO/IEC 17025

American Hospital Association standards

Other safety standards

Testing Standards and Certifications

UL 1642 Lithium Cell

UL 2054 Safety Requirements for Household and Commercial Batteries

UL 2580

UL 1989 Standby Batteries

UL/CSA/IEC 60950 (may be evaluated in conjunction with UL 2054)

Operation and Design Standards for Installation

IEEE 1547 series

IEEE 2800 series

IEEE 2030 series

EPA regulations

Designing for Safety

Which standards apply to your project

Which chemistry best fits your use case(s)

Optimizing non-flow batteries deployment

Siting considerations

Containment measures

Civil and electrical infrastructure limits/issues/concerns

Housing and other occupied structures around your site

What comes “out of the box” from the battery manufacturer

All hazards associated with specific chemistry chosen

General Installation Measures

Fire suppression system

The right firewalls/construction type

Enough room to get emergency vehicles into the site

Sources of water for emergency use

Secondary containment

Proper grounding

Arc Flash prevention/safe distances

Automated protection system(s) — electrical fire, off-gassing, etc.

Proper sensors for any hazard

Examples of design/code considerations for various sizes of kW

HVAC and backup power considerations

TUESDAY, JULY 23, 2024

9:00 a.m. – 12:30 p.m. : CENTRAL TIME

9:00 – 9:15 a.m. :: Overview and Introductions

Operating Safety

Use case and the battery limits

Maintenance

Limits to operation

SCADA

Electrical protection

Training and Procedures

Construction crew

Operations team

Local fire department

Hazmat units in the area

Neighbors to the site

Working with Fire Departments and Other Local Jurisdictions

Start early

Provide training and material support

Updates quarterly

Safer Batteries

New chemistries

New manufacturing methods

Decommissioning & Removal

Batteries life and variations

Design that incorporates decommissioning

Instructor

Doug Houseman, Senior Managing Consultant & Utility Modernization Lead, 1898 & Co. (a division of Burns & McDonnell)

Doug Houseman is Senior Managing Consultant & Utility Modernization Lead for 1898 & Co., a division of Burns and McDonnell. He has been working on storage issues since 1980, when he was involved with a number of DOD projects. As a long-time industry veteran, he has worked on all seven continents and in more than 70 countries on grid-related issues.