As a PV project manager, you’re great at designing and selling solar solutions. But now, your company has added Battery Energy Storage Systems (BESS) to its offering, and suddenly, you’re expected to sell and manage something you barely understand.
Does this sound familiar?
- Clients are asking technical questions about batteries that you’re struggling to answer.
- Sales conversations keep stalling when the topic shifts to storage.
- You’re worried about recommending the wrong BESS setup and causing expensive failures.
- You feel the pressure to upskill fast, but the information on the market is so fragmented and conflicting.
Selling BESS without a deep understanding isn’t just uncomfortable, it’s a major business risk. And the worst part? It can harm your client, damage your company’s reputation and finances, and even put your career at risk.
Many project managers in the solar industry find themselves in this exact situation. They’ve built their expertise around PV systems, but now they’re expected to sell and manage BESS projects with little to no training.
If you think your team can “figure it out as you go”, consider this: more than 50% of BESS failures happen within the first two years of operation. Since 2016, system failures have increased tenfold, particularly in BESS co-located with solar projects. The main reasons? Improper system design, poor integration, and lack of technical understanding.
Let’s break down why lack of BESS expertise is a trap and what you can do to escape it.
What Happens When You Sell BESS Without a Thorough Understanding?
- The Client Gets a Bad System That Underperforms
BESS isn’t just about adding batteries to a solar project. If the system isn’t sized properly, if the wrong product is chosen, or if the control settings are off, the client won’t see the savings or resilience they were promised. It’s a serious financial problem for the client and for the supplier.
- Your Company Loses Deals to Competitors Who Know Their Stuff
Clients aren’t just looking for solar anymore. They want energy management solutions. If you can’t confidently explain how BESS improves ROI through peak shaving, demand charge reduction, and energy arbitrage, they’ll find someone who can.
Project managers who lack BESS expertise struggle to fluently answer basic client questions like:
- How much can I save on demand charges?
- What’s the ideal battery size for my facility?
- How will this system interact with my existing infrastructure?
When these conversations go poorly, potential deals stall, shrink, or disappear altogether. Meanwhile, competitors who understand BESS are closing bigger, more profitable projects.
- You Overpromise, Underdeliver, and Damage Your Reputation
Solar sales teams are often pressured to push storage, but without proper knowledge, they overpromise savings and system capabilities. Then, when reality doesn’t match expectations, clients feel misled.
A common example is misjudging battery cycling. If a system is cycled too frequently due to poor sizing or misconfigured controls, the battery wears out years earlier than expected. This can result in:
- Unexpected replacement costs;
- Angry clients who demand refunds;
- Public complaints that harm your company’s reputation.
- Unplanned Costs Eat Away at Profit Margins
Improperly integrated BESS projects often run into hidden costs that weren’t accounted for in the original quote. These can include:
- Expensive system redesigns after realizing the battery doesn’t meet the client’s needs;
- Higher installation costs due to unforeseen grid compliance issues;
- Increased insurance premiums due to safety concerns.
Every unexpected problem cuts into profitability. Worse, your company may have to absorb these costs just to keep the client happy.
- You Get Left Behind as the Industry Moves Forward
The solar industry is changing fast. BESS is becoming a core part of modern energy solutions. Companies that fail to integrate storage effectively will struggle to stay competitive.
For project managers, the impact is personal. Those who don’t develop BESS expertise risk being passed over for promotions, left out of high-value projects, or even pushed out of companies transitioning toward fully integrated solar + storage services.
Possible solutions
- Learn from In-House Experts
Before stepping into client meetings, make sure you’re equipped with the right knowledge by leveraging the expertise within your company. If your organization already has BESS specialists, engineers, or technical sales experts, tap into their experience.
A proactive approach includes shadowing experienced colleagues during BESS sales and project planning, requesting internal training sessions, and reviewing past projects to understand what worked, what didn’t, and why.
If your company doesn’t yet have an internal BESS expertise, insist on getting proper training before you’re expected to sell or manage BESS projects—your clients (and your company’s reputation) depend on it.
- Hire External Consultancy and Learn on the Go
If your company lacks internal BESS expertise and formal training isn’t immediately available, bringing in an external consultant can bridge the knowledge gap while allowing your team to learn hands-on. This approach ensures that your projects are guided by real industry experience while simultaneously upskilling your internal team.
This approach provides practical, project-specific training while minimizing the risk of expensive mistakes. Over time, your team becomes self-sufficient, reducing the need for external support in future projects.
- Enroll in Specialized Training for Faster, Risk-Free Learning
Last, but not least option is to enroll in a structured, unbiased BESS training course. However, not all courses are created equal, so it’s important to choose one that provides practical, vendor-neutral knowledge rather than sales-driven content.
When selecting a course, look for the following key factors:
- Independence: ensure the course is unbiased and not influenced by a specific manufacturer. Look for CPD certification or equivalent accreditation.
- Hands-on learning: choose a program that goes beyond theory, offering real-world scenarios, system sizing examples, and usable ROI calculation templates.
- Instructors’ expertise: the lecturers should have direct, up-to-date experience in BESS project development, not just theoretical or outdated knowledge.
- Interactivity: you should have the opportunity to ask questions, participate in discussions, and access post-course support if needed.
A well-designed BESS training program ensures you gain actionable knowledge that can be immediately applied to your projects, helping you avoid costly mistakes and confidently integrate battery storage into your commercial solar offers.
Check out a specialized BESS Training for Solar Project Managers that provides a comprehensive understanding of technology segmentation, operations, optimization, warranty management, sizing and ROI calculation with editable Excel templates for ROI calculation included.
