Advancing net-zero energy buildings through battery energy storage: a techno-economic, carbon, and resilience assessment

Abstract

Achieving Net-Zero Energy (NZE) operations is a major milestone for public and private buildings aiming to reduce energy costs and emissions. Battery Energy Storage Systems (BESS) offer promising solutions for many NZE buildings to increase on-site renewable energy utilization, resilience to outages, and reduce emissions. This paper evaluates the feasibility of integrating BESS into NZE buildings to enhance resilience and achieve near-zero emissions, using a real case study: NZE office building of the Houston Advanced Research Center (HARC) in Texas. The impacts of deploying six BESS technologies were assessed using high-resolution operations and solar generation data. Sensitivity analysis was conducted to determine financial and embodied carbon payback thresholds. Currently, the solar PV plant at HARC helps reduce emissions by approximately 45%; however, 65% of solar energy is exported to the grid. By deploying BESS, HARC will increase on-site use, thereby reducing grid dependency, achieving more than 20 h of resilience and lowering emissions, depending on size. The analysis shows that optimal selection of BESS can achieve meaningful carbon reductions of 69%–98%, with financial payback periods as short as eight years. These findings present a real-world case on how the increasing number of NZE buildings in the U.S. can be resilient, near-zero-emissions buildings.