Behind the Batteries: The Hard Truth Industry Seems to Ignore

Battery Energy Storage Systems (BESS) are rapidly becoming a critical piece of the renewable energy puzzle. With every megawatt of intermittent generation added to the grid, the need for responsive storage increases.

A BESS delivers that support by balancing fluctuating supply and demand, absorbing surplus energy and providing dispatchable capacity on short notice.

But let’s be clear: No matter how sophisticated the hardware and software may seem, long-term reliability doesn’t come from shiny tech alone. It comes from doing the hard, often overlooked work of maintaining these systems the right way.

Despite their growing prevalence, battery storage operations remain widely misunderstood. The industry continues to buy into the illusion that these are plug-and-play assets requiring little to no oversight. The “set it and forget it” myth persists, as if remote monitoring and the occasional firmware patch are enough to keep everything humming. That thinking is not just wrong, it’s dangerous. It leads to faster degradation, expensive equipment failures and avoidable downtime. And that’s just the beginning.

Industry’s naïve leap into BESS

The root of the confusion lies in how BESS was introduced to the market. Many developers and asset owners dove into energy storage expecting it to behave like utility-scale solar, where remote monitoring and periodic maintenance often suffice. On the surface, the comparison seemed logical. Both technologies support renewables, both use power electronics and both can easily be presented as “low maintenance” due in part to the sheer lack of moving components.

But here’s the truth, BESS is not solar and treating it like solar is a recipe for operational headaches, financial losses and potential harm to the surrounding environment. Unfortunately, that’s exactly what many equipment vendors and integrators promote. They often peddle bundled service packages modeled after photovoltaic operations and maintenance (O&M) just to win bids by keeping projected ownership costs artificially low.

Essentially, it's a bait-and-switch. What gets lost in the fine print is that a BESS facility is not just a stack of batteries—it’s a fully-fledged power plant, with all the infrastructure, risk and complexity that comes with it.

Until the industry gets that message, we’ll continue to see assets underperform, underdeliver and in some cases, outright fail.

Technology alone won’t produce a successful asset

The idea that utility-scale BESS facilities do not need on-site staff is misguided. Yes, you can control charge and discharge cycles remotely, and SCADA systems along with energy trading platforms offer impressive visibility. However, none of that replaces having trained professionals on the ground.

These systems aren’t just flipping switches and following algorithms—they’re living, breathing energy assets that need constant care. Routine maintenance, compliance checks, environmental inspections and troubleshooting unexpected anomalies are the daily hands-on work every site needs. When something does go wrong, there’s no guarantee it’ll wait for a dispatched technician to arrive.

These batteries can fail without warning—and when they do, it’s often with explosive force. Fires, thermal events and major electrical faults not only offer highly desired content for local news stations; they offer promises of reputational harm to the entire industry. Without dedicated boots on the ground, response windows disappear, as does the site-specific knowledge that makes the difference between quick containment and full-blown disaster.

That’s why a permanent on-site team isn’t optional—it’s essential. BESS should be operated with the same level of seriousness and readiness as any conventional power plant. Anything else is negligence masquerading as efficiency.

No, not just anyone can do the job

There’s another dangerously common belief floating around that any technician with basic electrical knowledge can manage and/or troubleshoot a BESS site. In our experience, this is yet another misguided notion.

BESS facilities are not generic. They’re sealed environments packed with sensitive electronics, where the smallest sign of stress—be it a temperature fluctuation, a vibration or even an unusual hum—can signal a looming issue. These aren't things that consistently trigger alarms. They're the signals that only trained, dedicated personnel notice because they’ve spent enough time at the site to know what normal looks, sounds and operates like.

Assigning rotating crews or a series of subcontractors might check a box on a spreadsheet, but it opens the door to missed warning signs and reactive maintenance. Dedicated site staff build deep familiarity with the system. That consistency leads to faster interventions, smarter decisions and fewer surprises.

The bottom line is that treating BESS O&M like a plug-and-play service is a shortcut to failure. If you want real performance and real safety, you need real professionals who own the job, not just rent their time.

The measurable value of embedded operators

When you staff a BESS site with full-time operators, you get more than just routine coverage. You get institutional knowledge. You get people who’ve seen the system in every season, under every load. People who care because it’s their site; not just another job on the calendar.

Take one IPSC-managed facility as an example: Over two years, dedicated operators caught three failing HV bushings before they caused critical equipment failure. Not because the system screamed for help, but because vested operators with an ownership mindset made the call. The result? Hundreds of thousands saved in repair and downtime. Had these faulted during the peak season, the savings potential would have reached seven figures. That’s not a hypothetical value—that’s real money staying on the books.

Such interventions are not anomalies. They are the direct result of embedded teams who build long-term familiarity with site behavior and baseline conditions. This continuity improves not only technical outcomes, but also accountability and response readiness.

Safety cannot be part-time

Unlike solar or wind assets that follow natural rhythms, battery storage systems run on demand, at all hours. That operational intensity demands a level of rigor and responsiveness that mirrors a traditional power plant – not an afterthought, but a core function.

This is where dedicated operators make the difference. Even if the site isn’t staffed around the clock, these individuals are accountable for creating and enforcing a safety culture that protects every person who steps on site. They don’t just follow the rules, they set the tone. They’re the ones ensuring procedures are in place, PPE is properly used, drills are conducted and risks are actively managed, not glossed over.

When a system faults or runaway event occurs, every second counts. The ability to respond quickly and correctly comes from operators who know the site, the equipment and the hazards intimately. It’s about being prepared.

A mature safety program includes more than documents and dashboards. It requires hands-on leadership, tailored response plans, real-world training and established ties with local emergency services. Dedicated operators drive that effort. They walk the site, understand its nuances and build relationships that turn coordination into instinct during a crisis.

Safety isn’t just about preventing incidents. It’s about building a culture of readiness and accountability. That kind of culture doesn’t come from rotating techs or remote oversight. It comes from dedicated professionals who take full ownership of their role and the responsibility that comes with it.

BESS deserves better—and so does the public

As BESS plays a larger role in the modern energy mix, the industry must adjust its mindset. These systems are not supplemental but central to grid resilience and clean energy progress. As such, they require operational strategies that match their complexity and importance.

Get serious. Get staffed. Get real about what it takes to operate BESS the right way. Because in this industry, complacency isn’t just costly – it’s dangerous.

Asset owners and developers who recognize this will gain more than system reliability. They will gain a competitive edge, extending asset life, enhancing safety performance and playing a credible, consistent role in grid decarbonization efforts. The path to a NetZero future will be powered not only by batteries, but by the people who ensure those batteries deliver.