Abstract
Battery energy storage systems (BESSs) are being deployed on electrical grids in significant numbers to provide fast-response services. These systems are normally procured by the end user, such as a utility grid owner or independent power producer. This paper introduces a novel research project in which a research institution has purchased a 1 MW BESS and turned ownership over to a utility company under an agreement that allowed the institution to perform experimentation and data collection on the grid for a multi-year period. This arrangement, along with protocols governing experimentation, has created a unique research opportunity to actively and systematically test the impact of a BESS on a live island grid. The 2012 installation and commissioning of the BESS was facilitated by a partnership between the Hawaii Natural Energy Institute (HNEI) and the utility owner, the Hawaiian Electric and Light Company (HELCO). After the test period ended, HELCO continued to allow data collection (including health testing). In 2018, after 8500 equivalent cycles, the BESS continues to operate within specifications. HNEI continues to provide HELCO with expertise to aid with diagnostics as needed. Details about the BESS design, installation, experimental protocols, initial results, and lessons learned are presented in this paper.
Highlights
At high penetration levels, the integration of intermittent renewable energy sources poses several challenges for grid operations, due, in part, to the variability of renewable energy sources, and due to the reduction of system inertia via the displacement of traditional dispatchable generation.These factors can result in a reduction in grid stability and reliability, manifesting in such ways as increased frequency variability, voltage transients, and power quality reduction [1,2,3]
This paper presents a unique field test of a Battery energy storage systems (BESSs) operating on an island electric grid which was made possible by a partnership between the Hawaii Natural Energy Institute (HNEI), at the University of Hawaii at
The investigation into use of a BESS system for the island of Hawaii was initiated as a result of a 2009 analysis of that electrical grid performed by General Electric (GE, Schenectady, NY, USA)
Summary
The integration of intermittent renewable energy sources poses several challenges for grid operations, due, in part, to the variability of renewable energy sources, and due to the reduction of system inertia via the displacement of traditional dispatchable generation These factors can result in a reduction in grid stability and reliability, manifesting in such ways as increased frequency variability, voltage transients, and power quality reduction [1,2,3]. This switching forms both an independent and dependent variable over a relatively short time (minimizing changes in background conditions) This allowed for much more direct measurements of the effect of the BESS on the island grid than would be possible with data from long-term monitoring of the grid before and after BESS installation. The paper describes Hawaii Island BESS project including project development and installation (Section 2), development of the control algorithms, acceptance test results, and initial performance tests (Section 3) followed by concluding remarks and the plans for future work (Section 4)
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