BESS bankability starts with the technical requirements. This checklist covers performance (power, energy, round-trip efficiency, augmentation), redundancy, the battery management system, fire detection and suppression, factory acceptance testing and warranties — so an owner’s specification holds up to lender scrutiny.
How to use this checklist
Use this to test a battery-storage technical specification against the requirements lenders and independent engineers expect. It complements the commercial view in our insight on what lenders look for in BESS bankability. This is a technical-review aid, not legal advice.
Performance requirements
- Rated power (MW) and usable energy (MWh) at defined conditions
- Round-trip efficiency defined at a stated measurement point
- Reactive-power capability specified
- Operational dynamics (ramp rate, response time) defined
- Operational reliability / availability targets set
Long-term performance and augmentation
- Capacity-retention / degradation guarantee defined
- An augmentation plan holds guaranteed usable energy across the contract term
Application and redundancy
- Duty cycle / use case (e.g. energy shifting, ancillary services) defined
- Redundancy concept specified (e.g. N+1)
Design requirements
- Electrical design requirements defined
- Auxiliary systems specified
- Instrumentation, measurement and control defined
- Container and HVAC / thermal-management requirements set
Batteries and container
- Cell / module quality and implementation certifications required
- Battery functional requirements defined
- Battery-container construction, pre-dispatch quality and testing specified
Battery Management System (BMS)
- BMS certifications required
- Functional and design requirements defined
- Protection functions specified
Fire detection, suppression and protection
- Fire-detection system required
- Fire-suppression system required
- Overall fire-protection strategy defined
Testing, warranties and safety
- Factory acceptance testing (FAT) required before dispatch
- Testing standards referenced
- Warranties (product and performance) defined
- Health-and-safety requirements and submissions specified