IN Brief:
- Sopoco has installed a 1.1MWh battery energy storage system at AJW Group’s West Sussex facility.
- The installation uses five Sungrow PowerStack units connected to the site’s existing rooftop solar system.
- C&I storage is moving from energy-cost reduction into resilience, load management, and site-level flexibility.
Sopoco has delivered a 1.1MWh battery energy storage system for AJW Group in West Sussex, installing five Sungrow PowerStack units to support a high-demand aviation maintenance operation with existing rooftop solar generation.
The installation uses five 229kWh Sungrow PowerStack units and is designed to store and discharge electricity generated by the on-site solar system. AJW Group operates in aviation maintenance, repair, and overhaul, where continuous operations, controlled facilities, and reliable power are central to service delivery.
The project shows how commercial and industrial battery storage is moving beyond simple self-consumption. A battery paired with rooftop solar can reduce grid imports during expensive periods, increase the use of on-site generation, and improve control over power flows. In a 24-hour industrial environment, it can also support resilience, peak-load management, and more predictable energy costs.
PowerStack-style systems bring storage closer to packaged site infrastructure. Battery modules, power conversion, liquid cooling, monitoring, and protection systems are integrated into containerised or cabinet-based units that can be deployed without the scale of a utility BESS project. That makes them suitable for sites where demand is large enough to justify storage, but where space, connection capacity, and installation time remain practical constraints.
The West Sussex project also reflects the direction of the rooftop solar market. As more commercial buildings add PV, the value of storage increases where daytime generation does not perfectly align with site demand. Batteries can absorb surplus output, reduce export dependence, and support demand during later operating periods. That is particularly relevant for facilities with evening, overnight, or continuous demand profiles.
The UK solar base has continued to expand, with installations passing two million and total capacity reaching 22.1GW by the end of March 2026. Those figures place more emphasis on the interaction between rooftop PV, batteries, export arrangements, and distribution network capacity. The AJW installation applies that system trend at commercial site level.
C&I storage also changes the electrical design of a facility. The battery has to be integrated with existing solar inverters, switchgear, metering, protection, site loads, fire safety arrangements, energy management software, and grid connection limits. Where a site has critical operations, the design must also consider maintenance access, monitoring, alarms, isolation, and operational procedures.
Fire safety and thermal control are now central elements of BESS specification. Liquid cooling can support temperature management across battery modules, helping maintain operating conditions and performance. It does not remove the need for robust fire-risk assessment, separation distances, emergency planning, battery management systems, and integration with site safety protocols. As batteries move into more industrial and commercial settings, those details become part of normal electrical project delivery.
Grid-scale schemes continue to attract investment, but behind-the-meter storage is becoming more relevant where businesses face higher energy costs, constrained connections, and pressure to use on-site generation more effectively. The same solar-storage logic is visible at larger scale in Cornwall, where European Energy has started construction of a solar and battery project designed to improve the usefulness of renewable output.
For industrial users, storage performance will be judged less by headline capacity and more by daily operation. Cycling strategy, tariff response, degradation, maintenance, software control, and site load forecasting determine whether the system delivers against its commercial case. A 1.1MWh installation can be a substantial site asset, but its value depends on the quality of integration.
The AJW project points to a C&I storage market that is becoming more technically mature. Rooftop solar creates the generation base, while batteries, controls, and power engineering determine how much of that generation can be turned into useful operational flexibility.
