Levelized cost of electricity calculation of the energy generation plant of a CO2 neutral micro-grid

Abstract

The new paradigm of distributed energy generation is bringing the need of the development of new local management grid systems, also called micro-grids. However, their economic profitability it’s still uncertain. Accordingly, this paper develops a techno-economic assessment of the micro-grid by calculating the Levelized Cost of Electricity of the energy generation plant inside the micro-grid. The studied energy generation plant counts with a solar energy generation, wind energy generation and a lithium ion battery-based energy storage. The research work considers as certain the solar energy generation, the wind energy generation and the energy consumption based on data collected all over the 2017. However, it takes as uncertain the energy evolution and replacement of the batteries. The whole micro-grid that integrates the electric, thermal and aging behavior of the batteries is simulated in order to calculate those uncertain variables under different battery operation criteria and battery thermal management systems. As result, this paper presents a high accurate and detailed cost assessment for different battery operation scenarios, where the most profitable combination of thermal management and battery operation criteria are obtained.