Optimal Integration of Battery Energy Storage Systems and Control of Active Power Curtailment for Distribution Generation

Abstract

Power flows exceeding the thermal capacity on power system lines and severe rise on bus voltages are a potential problem in the future distribution grids where development of photovoltaic (PV) installations is expected. This problem could cause damage on components such as transformers and distribution lines provoking triggering the system protections that would eventually lead to system failures. The economic and environmental implications related to reinforcing of the existing network, make this option not the immediate solution for implementation. Installation of battery energy storage systems (BESS) and control of active power curtailment (APC) would be another option to phase the upcoming problems. In this paper a forecast for the year 2035 in a real residential area in Switzerland was investigated, where large amount of PV panels are expected to be installed. This project investigates different solutions based on BESS and APC to deal with the inevitable increase of power flow in the network. The solutions presented here, prevent the overload in a distribution system transformer and avoid excess power flows on the lines. For a given set of demand and PV production curves, simulations in Matlab were performed and computations of optimal power flows were calculated. The solutions explored on this work consider economical aspects such as discounted cash flow method that finds the optimal size of BESS installed. Results also show that combining BESS with curtailment is the most viable solution.