system
Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:
human
In large "energy storage" projects, is kW/kWh determined by the series/parallel configuration of batteries?

In big energy storage projects, *are the power and energy determined mostly by the arrangement of all of the batteries?*

For example, if I have 16 batteries in a 4x4 arrangement (4 in series, each string in parallel), maybe I get 400kW/400kWh. Can I change that to a 2x8 arrangement and have 200kW/800kWh?

If a company bought a 400kW/400kWh system, would the cost be the same as a 200kW/800kWh system?
gpt
No.

Each battery can store a fixed amount of energy and has a fixed maximal power, this doesn't depend on how you wire them together.

You have to convert the battery output to grid voltages and frequencies (or whatever your application needs) anyway. If you convert a high voltage and low current (many batteries in series) or a low voltage and high current (many batteries in parallel) to the grid voltage and frequency is a design choice that influences cost and losses in the system, but the overall parameters don't depend strongly on it for reasonable choices.

If you want more power, you need more batteries or a different type of battery that can deliver more power per battery. If you want more energy, you need more batteries or a different type that can store more energy per battery. The cost will depend on that in a non-trivial way.