Flywheel

Why sell utilities the cow when they can get the electricity for a fee?

Energy storage companies generally get their revenue by selling products.

But they might do better if they position themselves as mini-utilities.

To overcome some of the economic realities of the energy market and to better highlight some of the advantages of storage systems, makers of large-scale batteries, flywheels and other types of equipment may start to position themselves as power providers or service providers instead of manufacturers.

Take Beacon Power, for example. The Tyngsboro, Mass.-based company originally planned to sell its flywheels as a pieces of equipment to utilities to More >