On sizing of battery energy storage systems for PV plants power smoothing

Abstract

The high variability of solar irradiance causes fluctuations in the generation of photovoltaic (PV) power plants. This characteristic affects power system operation, thus, strategies are necessary to mitigate the intermittent characteristics of PV power plants. Several countries adopt grid codes incorporating ramp rate (RR) limitations for PV power injection into the grid, also known as power smoothing control. In this sense, battery energy storage systems (BESS) with coordinated RR control algorithms are commonly applied to mitigate current fluctuations from the PV system to the grid. Therefore, studies on the effect of local solar irradiance on BESS requirements for PV power smoothing applications are very important. It is also worth highlighting that in the literature there is a gap in the evaluation of aspects of battery lifetime, BESS volume, price and BESS oversizing for selecting an ideal battery model, among a catalog of batteries, constituting an industrial concern. Therefore, this work presents a detailed BESS sizing methodology, evaluating aspects of the energy requirements, power, and discharging rate (C-rate), based on the mission profile (featuring a customized solution for each project). In addition, the effect of the battery temperature control on the BESS sizing is evaluated. The case study is based on a 1 MW PV system, assessed using a one-year mission profile of solar irradiance and ambient temperature from Goiânia-Brazil. The PV plant is connected to a 440 V grid associated with a BESS that mitigates oscillations of 10%/min. The BESS sizing is evaluated in terms of BESS volume, lifetime, and oversizing factor for power and energy. The proposed methodology reduces the BESS volume by 57.14% in relation to the traditional BESS design of literature.