Google-backed pilot unlocks first environmental certificate revenue stream for battery storage

Energy storage software developer Quintrace, independent battery operator esVolta, and clean energy transaction platform LevelTen Energy have announced the results of a pilot project sponsored by Google that creates an environmental revenue stream for utility-scale battery storage assets.

The three-month demonstration utilized time-stamped Granular Certificates (GCs) to match surplus solar energy with grid-connected battery storage, time-shifting clean electricity to hours when Google’s energy demand exceeded its renewable generation.

While traditional corporate renewable matching relies on annual targets, battery storage operates on an hourly basis. This pilot created a new structure to bridge that mismatch and unlock more project revenue.

As standards bodies like the Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi) move toward hourly reporting and the GHG Protocol updates its scope 2 guidance, corporate buyers require verifiable hour-by-hour tracking to demonstrate 24/7 carbon-free energy (CFE) compliance.

Under the pilot’s contracting framework, Google contracted directly with battery operators to time-shift environmental attributes it already owned without taking on battery tolling agreements, merchant dispatch risks, or asset operational control. Battery owners retained full flexibility to respond to energy market price signals and real-time grid emergencies.

The pilot deployed esVolta’s 240 MW / 480 MWh Anole project and 100 MW / 200 MWh Burksol project. Across the testing period, the batteries charged during defined midday solar generation windows and discharged during evening demand peaks, shifting a total of 9.2 GWh of clean energy across hours.

LevelTen Energy managed the registry infrastructure to prevent double-counting and provided the transaction framework for the storage-shift contracts. Quintrace provided the verification software, tracking renewable energy from initial battery charging through final grid discharge while applying dynamic efficiency loss calculations to ensure buyers only claimed net clean energy delivered in compliance with EnergyTag standards.

“Storage has never had a credible, hour-by-hour way to prove the clean energy it delivers, and that is the gap Quintrace was built to close,” said Scott Burns, SVP of commercial and product at Quintrace. “By tracing renewable energy through the battery and accounting for losses, we can verify exactly what was time-shifted and when, to standards such as EnergyTag.”

By decoupling environmental attribute time-shifting from traditional physical tolling or power purchase agreements, the pilot establishes a transaction template for battery operators seeking new revenue streams and corporate off-takers aiming for hourly decarbonization targets.