Typical delays and what goes wrong

Most descriptions of a BESS project (battery energy storage system) present the process as if it runs in a straight line from contract signature to commercial operation. In reality, an industrial battery installation is an infrastructure project involving several parties and several authorities, and that kind of project can be delayed. Delay is rarely a sign that something has gone wrong. It is a normal feature of this type of construction, and it is better to know the causes in advance than to meet them as unpleasant surprises along the way.

This article walks through the most common causes of delay, explained without soft-pedalling: delivery of the system itself, lead times on electrical components, the grid connection application, municipal case handling, conditions on the site, and the customer's own data and internal approval. It then covers the contractual consequences if a connection cannot be realised at all, and how we communicate status along the way. The purpose is honesty, not a polished picture.

Delivery and transport of the system

The first source of delay is the system itself. An industrial BESS is manufactured and transported, and that part of the process begins only once the contract is signed and the first payment has been made. Production and transport take time. We work from an indicative estimate for that period, but it is precisely an estimate. Delays in production at the supplier or in transport can move a schedule, and by their nature they sit outside what we can control hour by hour. Demand for batteries has also risen sharply and affects lead times across the sector.

Lead times on electrical components and the switchboard

Beyond the battery itself, a system requires a range of electrical components, and here sits another common bottleneck. A central component is the switchboard: the panel and switching equipment that connects the system safely to the fixed electrical installation. In many projects a new switchboard must be established, and lead times for that type of equipment are not always short.

The background is the same pressure facing the rest of the electricity sector. Lead times on cables, transformers and other electrical components have increased as global demand for raw materials and components has grown sharply. That is a condition under which even Energinet, Denmark's transmission system operator responsible for the overall electricity grid, works, including by purchasing components early to be less exposed to long lead times. We handle it in a similar way by starting the component track as early as possible, but the lead time on a switchboard remains a factor that can affect when a system is ready.

The grid application: variable case handling

Grid connection is the bottleneck that most often becomes decisive for the schedule. A battery must be connected to the collective electricity grid through an application to the local distribution system operator (the netselskab), and the application process itself is described in its own article in this guide. In most turnkey projects the matter is a changed agreement on an existing connection, not the construction of an entirely new physical grid link. What makes the grid a source of delay is that processing time cannot be determined in advance, no matter how thoroughly we prepare the basis.

The reason is that the process depends on the state of the grid exactly where the system will stand. In most cases the time horizon is primarily about whether the feed-in capacity and metering can be approved within the capacity already allocated. In exceptional cases the grid company must assess whether there is already a free point on the grid, or whether a new connection point must be built, and that affects how long the case takes. If spare capacity exists at the existing point, connection can often proceed more quickly. If new grid must be established, that requires excavation work, an excavation permit from the municipality, and coordination with other utility owners, and the process then stretches significantly. Two otherwise identical systems can therefore have very different time horizons solely because of local grid capacity.

An important starting point is that an existing delivery or feed-in capacity is not in itself the same as capacity for a battery. The fact that a business already has a large connection does not automatically mean there is room for a battery within the same framework. Distribution companies have begun to publish figures for their connection times as an expectation-setting exercise, but they stress that a specific answer can only be given once the customer's need and the desired location are known. The grid track must therefore be treated as an estimate with uncertainty and started early.

Municipal case handling: building permit, planning, fire and groundwater

Alongside the grid, the municipal process is the other major authority source of delay. A battery system is a fixed installation, and the individual municipality handles building cases and issues building permits and can set local frameworks through a local plan (lokalplan). The municipal tracks are described in their own article in the guide; the point here is that each track has its own case handling, which can take time.

Four factors can each extend the process. The first is the building permit itself, whose scope depends on the project. The second is the planning basis: if the site is in rural zone (landzone), new construction generally requires a rural-zone permit, where the municipal council makes a case-by-case assessment, and a local plan can set further frameworks. The third is fire: for a larger system, the business should be in dialogue with the municipal emergency services about whether fire-related conditions will be set, for example on distance to boundaries and buildings, which are set case by case. The fourth is groundwater: if the site lies in an area of special drinking water interest, the municipality must keep the area free of installations that could endanger groundwater, unless the risk can be averted. We handle the dialogue with the municipality and apply for the relevant permits, but the decisions and their timing sit with the authorities, and none of the four tracks has a fixed processing time.

Conditions on the site

A source of delay lies in the site itself. An industrial system stands on a cast foundation whose size and execution depend on the number of units and on conditions on the ground. The physical preparatory work is described in its own article in the guide, but in connection with delays it is especially the soil that can play a role. If the soil is soft or the bearing capacity is low, extra foundation work may be required before the system can be installed, and that can affect both schedule and cost. The same applies if access conditions make delivery and installation difficult. That type of condition is uncovered in a site assessment, but in practice it can surface along the way and therefore belongs in an honest picture.

Customer data and internal approval

Not all delays sit with the supplier or the authorities. Part of the delay sits with the customer, and that is equally real. One factor is data: a precise assessment of the system presupposes the business's own consumption data, and if those are hard to obtain or arrive late, that delays the initial clarification before the project starts.

The second factor is internal approval. An investment in an industrial BESS typically needs to pass a CFO and in many cases a board, and that process takes time that is not always visible from the outside. In our model, 40 percent is paid at contract signature before we order the system, and the order can therefore only be started once the internal decision has been taken. The earlier the internal mandate is in place, the less waiting time remains when the technical assessment points to a match. The link between the first payment and internal approval is described in more detail in the guide's article on the weeks before signature.

Contractual consequences if grid connection cannot be realised

Grid connection cannot be guaranteed in advance, and in rare cases a sufficient connection may turn out not to be possible. When that happens, there are typically two outcomes. One is a redesign, where the grid company designates a different connection point, or where location or sizing is adjusted so the system fits the terms offered. That can change the project's scope, schedule and economics, but the project continues.

The second, and more far-reaching, outcome is that a sufficient grid connection cannot be realised after a reasonable attempt. If that happens, the project may terminate under the contract, and payments are handled as agreed in the contract. There is therefore no universal guarantee that all amounts are always repaid in every situation; handling follows the specific contractual terms. This possibility is rare, but it is a real premise that is better to know from the outset than to discover along the way.

ZynexGroup's approach to status and communication

We cannot remove the fact that the grid, the municipality and deliveries are independent processes with their own uncertainty, but we can be honest about it and keep communication steady and ongoing. Throughout the process the business has one fixed contact person with us from the first enquiry, so the same person knows the project and can give a real status, including when the status is that a track is delayed.

We treat the critical tracks (grid, components and municipality) as independent processes that we run in parallel and start early, precisely because that is where the time uncertainty sits. When something slips, we report it, rather than promising a date we cannot keep. A schedule from us is therefore an indicative estimate for planning use, not a fixed delivery date, and the realistic timeline from signature to commercial operation is described in its own article in the guide.

Limitations and assumptions

An honest guide to what goes wrong must also say what it cannot do. We cannot guarantee a grid approval, a building permit or a specific delivery date on components, because those matters are decided by authorities, grid capacity and a market outside both our and the customer's control. What can be reduced is the risk that a delay catches anyone off guard. The earlier data, internal mandate and the hard preconditions (a grid connection of at least 400 A and an address where the system can be built legally) are clarified, the fewer surprises arise along the way. If production security, emergency power or critical loads form part of the consideration, that angle is described in its own track in the guide.

Overall perspective

Delays in a BESS project are rarely a sign of failure. They are a normal consequence of several parties and authorities needing to fall into place. Delivery and components depend on a market with long lead times. Grid and municipality are independent processes whose duration cannot be determined in advance, because it depends on capacity, planning, fire and groundwater at the specific location. Conditions on the site and the customer's own data and internal approval can pull in the same direction. None of these can be promised away, but they can be named, started early and communicated honestly. A business that enters the project with that picture is better prepared.

Have the potential for your facility assessed

If you are considering an industrial BESS, the natural starting point is the same data that also determine how smoothly the process will run: your grid connection in amperes, your consumption profile and your historical consumption data, together with the desired location. We use that type of information for an initial assessment of whether there is a match, and for a data-based dialogue about the next steps, including which of the factors above can realistically play a role at the address. You are welcome to contact us here.