Battery storage project Gantt chart with order queue and energisation tests
An editable battery storage Gantt chart: grid connection, permits, enclosure and power conversion unit orders, fire strategy sign-off, factory and site testing, energisation and grid-live tests, with dependencies and milestones.
What the battery storage project gantt chart with order queue and energisation tests process is
A battery energy storage project looks like a construction job, but the calendar behaves differently. The site works are short. The long bars are waits: the utility's study of the connection, the authority's review of the permits, and the manufacturing queues for the battery enclosures and the power conversion units. Anything that changes the order after it is placed, such as a different enclosure layout or a larger inverter rating, goes to the back of that queue. That is the late change that costs the most, so the chart places the specification freeze at the very start.
This template has four groups: Grid and permits, Equipment orders, Site and installation, and Testing and energisation. It has 22 tasks and four milestones: "Connection offer accepted", "Fire strategy signed off", "Battery energised" and "Commercial operation". There are two starting tasks, "Submit grid connection application" (3 working days) and "Freeze battery and inverter specification" (5). "Prepare and submit permit applications" (6) starts one day after the grid application starts, and "Draft safety and fire strategy" (6) starts three days after the specification freeze starts, so neither waits for a finished predecessor.
The orders are the heart of the plan. "Place battery enclosure order" (2) and "Place power conversion unit order" (2) both follow the specification freeze, not the grid offer, so the manufacturing queues start as early as the design allows. "Battery enclosure manufacturing queue" (40) and "Power conversion unit manufacturing queue" (35) are waiting time, not effort: you enter the lead time the suppliers quote and nothing on site shortens it. "Run factory acceptance test" (5) waits for both, and "Deliver equipment to site" (5) waits for the test and for the "Fire strategy signed off" gate. The site gets its equipment only when the factory test is done and the safety gate is open.
On site, "Mobilise site and pour foundations" (12) waits for "Wait for the authority permit review" (20). "Build grid connection works" (15) starts five days into it and also needs "Connection offer accepted", which follows "Wait for the utility connection study" (20). "Install enclosures and connect cabling" (8) waits for the foundations and for the delivery. Then comes the part that differs from a plain installation job: "Run site acceptance test" (5), "Wait for utility energisation approval" (8) and the "Battery energised" milestone. "Run grid-live tests and performance run" (10) can only start after that milestone, because those checks need a live connection, so they are always the last thing on the critical path. All durations are illustrative.
A timeline schedules the work. It does not make the installation safe, permitted, certified or compliant with any grid code or authority; those decisions sit with the people and bodies responsible for them. If the energisation date or a connection date is fixed in reality, give the first task a fixed Start and fix the milestone or the wait task that holds it, and read the conflict flag: the plan starts on the earliest fixed Start and then compares what the dependencies allow with what you fixed. For the commissioning method in general, see /guides/commissioning-and-energisation-gantt-chart. For long-lead orders, see /guides/long-lead-equipment-gantt-chart.
What this flowchart covers
In this template
- Four groups, Grid and permits, Equipment orders, Site and installation and Testing and energisation, with 22 tasks and four milestones: "Connection offer accepted", "Fire strategy signed off", "Battery energised" and "Commercial operation".
- Two waits that run beside the orders: "Wait for the utility connection study" (20 working days) and "Wait for the authority permit review" (20), each a placeholder for the duration you are actually told.
- Orders placed straight after "Freeze battery and inverter specification": the 40-day "Battery enclosure manufacturing queue" and the 35-day "Power conversion unit manufacturing queue" both feed "Run factory acceptance test".
- A safety gate before delivery: "Draft safety and fire strategy" starts 3 days after the specification freeze starts and leads to "Fire strategy signed off", which "Deliver equipment to site" waits for.
- Tests in two places: "Run site acceptance test" after installation, then "Wait for utility energisation approval", "Battery energised" and "Run grid-live tests and performance run", which can only follow energisation.
When to use this template
- You are planning a battery storage build and need to show the developer, the utility contact and the contractor which wait sets the date.
- You want to see how much a late specification change costs once the equipment orders are in their manufacturing queues.
- You need to decide when the factory acceptance test, the fire strategy sign-off and delivery have to line up.
- A funder or owner asks when commercial operation is possible and you want to compare the finish date with the date you need.
The plan, task by task
Every task in the chart with its length in working days and what it waits for. A dependency is a step number; SS is start-to-start, FF is finish-to-finish, and +n is a lag in working days.
| # | Task | Group | Working days | Depends on |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Submit grid connection application | Grid and permits | 3 | |
| 2 | Wait for the utility connection study | Grid and permits | 20 | 1 |
| 3 | Connection offer accepted | Grid and permits | Milestone | 2 |
| 4 | Prepare and submit permit applications | Grid and permits | 6 | 1SS+1 |
| 5 | Wait for the authority permit review | Grid and permits | 20 | 4 |
| 6 | Draft safety and fire strategy | Grid and permits | 6 | 8SS+3 |
| 7 | Fire strategy signed off | Grid and permits | Milestone | 6 |
| 8 | Freeze battery and inverter specification | Equipment orders | 5 | |
| 9 | Place battery enclosure order | Equipment orders | 2 | 8 |
| 10 | Place power conversion unit order | Equipment orders | 2 | 8 |
| 11 | Battery enclosure manufacturing queue | Equipment orders | 40 | 9 |
| 12 | Power conversion unit manufacturing queue | Equipment orders | 35 | 10 |
| 13 | Run factory acceptance test | Equipment orders | 5 | 11, 12 |
| 14 | Deliver equipment to site | Equipment orders | 5 | 7, 13 |
| 15 | Mobilise site and pour foundations | Site and installation | 12 | 5 |
| 16 | Build grid connection works | Site and installation | 15 | 3, 15SS+5 |
| 17 | Install enclosures and connect cabling | Site and installation | 8 | 14, 15 |
| 18 | Run site acceptance test | Testing and energisation | 5 | 17 |
| 19 | Wait for utility energisation approval | Testing and energisation | 8 | 16, 18 |
| 20 | Battery energised | Testing and energisation | Milestone | 19 |
| 21 | Run grid-live tests and performance run | Testing and energisation | 10 | 20 |
| 22 | Commercial operation | Testing and energisation | Milestone | 21 |
How it works
Freeze the specification first
Treat "Freeze battery and inverter specification" as the start of the orders. Replace its 5 days with the time your design really needs, and write the choices that cannot change afterwards in the task notes.
Enter the quoted lead times
Set "Battery enclosure manufacturing queue" and "Power conversion unit manufacturing queue" to the lead times the suppliers give you. If one is much longer, that order is the critical path; switch on View, Critical path to see it.
Replace the two external waits
Put the duration you are told into "Wait for the utility connection study" and "Wait for the authority permit review". They are placeholders; neither this chart nor the template knows any utility's or authority's real time.
Gate delivery on the fire strategy
Keep "Fire strategy signed off" in front of "Deliver equipment to site". Add tasks for your own reviews, such as insurer or fire service consultation, ahead of the milestone.
Separate factory and site testing
Keep "Run factory acceptance test" before delivery and "Run site acceptance test" after installation. Move tests that need the live connection into "Run grid-live tests and performance run", after "Battery energised".
Add owners, share and export
Put the responsible person in People for each task, share the chart with the developer, contractor and utility contact, and export a PDF or CSV for the project file.
Frequently asked questions
Why are the enclosure and power conversion unit orders placed before the grid offer?
Because the manufacturing queue is the longest bar and starts only when the order is placed. In this plan both orders follow the specification freeze, not "Connection offer accepted". If your inverter rating depends on the connection terms, add that dependency and see how far the dates move.
Why can't the grid-live tests run earlier?
They need a live connection. "Run grid-live tests and performance run" follows "Battery energised", so a delay in the utility's approval moves the finish date directly. The site acceptance test earlier in the plan covers what can be checked before that.
Does the chart make the installation safe or compliant?
No. It schedules the work. Fire strategy, safety, permits and grid compliance are decided by the people and bodies responsible, and the chart only shows when each part is meant to happen.
How long does a battery storage project take?
It depends on the site, the equipment and the waits outside your control. The durations here are illustrative. Replace them with quoted lead times and read the finish date from the chart.
Is this the same as a general equipment installation plan?
No. This one adds the connection study, permit review, safety gate and tests after energisation. For a plain installation, see /templates/equipment-installation-gantt, and for ordering as a project of its own, see /templates/procurement-project-gantt-chart.