Control and real time monitoring of less battery storage photovoltaic plants

Control, sizing and management of stand-alone or grid-connected photovoltaic (PV) plants are based on static methods, energy estimation and simulations of the PV systems in average conditions. Despite the fact that these approaches provide information about the expected performances, they do not perform an optimization of the PV plant; nor do they allow an optimal matching of PV-load association for the local climate conditions. Besides that, the problems of the PV cost, the maintenance and the battery replacements remain an obstacle for the development of PV plants.

To surmount these problems (storage, control, cost and efficiency), we have developed in our laboratory new prototypes of less battery storage systems (LBSS), which substitute the battery storage by a thermal storage for PV refrigeration or a hydraulic storage for PV pumping and water desalination (Cherif, A. (1994). Optimization and management of new PV refrigeration plant using latent storage. In Proceedings of the 12th E.P.S.E. Conference, Amsterdam, Vol. 1, HS Stephens & Associates, pp. 448–452). This approach will contribute to reduce the maintenance operations, the PV cost and the breakdowns of the battery and its regulator. We have introduced a new control strategy based on the performance of the DC/DC and DC/AC converters and the real time monitoring of the PV plant. This paper presents the technical and experimental aspects of these LBSS systems.     

ABLE project: Development of an advanced lead-acid storage system for autonomous PV installations

In the advanced battery for low-cost renewable energy (ABLE) project, the partners have developed an advanced storage system for small and medium-size PV systems. It is composed of an innovative valve-regulated lead-acid (VRLA) battery, optimised for reliability and manufacturing cost, and an integrated regulator, for optimal battery management and anti-fraudulent use.The ABLE battery performances are comparable to flooded tubular batteries, which are the reference in medium-size PV systems. The ABLE regulator has several innovative features regarding energy management and modular series/parallel association. The storage system has been validated by indoor, outdoor and field tests, and it is expected that this concept could be a major improvement for large-scale implementation of PV within the framework of national rural electrification schemes.     

新的地域并网式太阳能发电系统的电力经济分析与设计

提出一种新的地域并网式太阳能发电系统，即带有电力存储系统的地域并网式太阳能发电系统。从电力的有效利用、经济性的角度对这种新的地域并网式太阳能发电系统进行了研究，提出了系统的设计以及选定电力存储系统存储容量的方法，然后针对不同的条件选择了相应的电力存储系统的容量。     

Optimal operation of microgrid using hybrid differential evolution and harmony search algorithm

This paper proposes the generation scheduling approach for a microgrid comprised of conventional generators, wind energy generators, solar photovoltaic (PV) systems, battery storage, and electric vehicles. The electrical vehicles (EVs) play two different roles: as load demands during charging, and as storage units to supply energy to remaining load demands in the MG when they are plugged into the microgrid (MG). Wind and solar PV powers are intermittent in nature; hence by including the battery storage and EVs, the MG becomes more stable. Here, the total cost objective is minimized considering the cost of conventional generators, wind generators, solar PV systems and EVs. The proposed optimal scheduling problem is solved using the hybrid differential evolution and harmony search (hybrid DE-HS) algorithm including the wind energy generators and solar PV system along with the battery storage and EVs. Moreover, it requires the least investment.     

Design of a grid-connected PV system with hybrid energy storage

由于国内的储能技术起步较晚,分布式电源中应用单一储能介质很难满足系统运行要求.基于某公司的光伏储能并网系统示范项目,以具有快速响应特性的超级电容器和具有大容量储能特性的锂离子电池为混合储能系统,以储能控制器为控制核心统一协调控制,使电能以可控功率按需送入电网.该系统可有效提高储能系统的功率输出能力,优化储能系统的充放电过程,延长储能电池的使用寿命,具有良好的应用及推广价值.     

Solar energy storage in German households: profitability,load changes and flexibility

The developments of battery storage technology together with photovoltaic (PV) roof-top systems might lead to far-reaching changes in the electricity demand structures and flexibility of households. The implications are supposed to affect the generation mix of utilities, distribution grid utilization, and electricity price. Using a techno-economic optimization model of a household system, we endogenously dimension PV system and stationary battery storage (SBS). The results of the reference scenario show positive net present values (NPV) for PV systems of approx. 500–1,800 EUR/kW_p and NPV for SBS of approx. 150–500 EUR/kWh. Main influences are the demand of the households, self-consumption rates, investment costs, and electricity prices. We integrate electric vehicles (EV) with different charging strategies and find increasing NPV of the PV system and self-consumption of approx. 70%. With further declining system prices for solar energy storage and increasing electricity prices, PV systems and SBS can be profitable in Germany from 2018 on even without a guaranteed feed-in tariff or subsidies. Grid utilization substantially changes by households with EV and PV-SBS. We discuss effects of different incentives and electricity tariff options (e. g. load limits or additional demand charges). Concluding, solar energy storage systems will bring substantial changes to electricity sales.     

Assessment of residential battery storage systems and operation strategies considering battery aging

With the increasing popularity of combining residential photovoltaic systems with battery storages, research, industry, and customers look for ways to determine if such an investment is economically profitable. Simulation programs may serve to predict the profitability and lifetime of the system. In this paper, we use techno-economic analysis with a specific account of battery degradation to determine profitability and lifetime of a residential photovoltaic (PV) battery system under different energy management and tariff regimes. This work presents two case studies: the first being a techno-economic comparison for a residential PV-battery system in New South Wales, Australia and Germany, and the second analyzing the profitability and degradation impact of three different operation strategies for a battery storage in Australia. The results reveal that site-specific conditions (i.e., geographical and energy-economic constraints) may have a significant impact on the ideal system configuration and ultimately the anticipated battery lifetime. Furthermore, statistical analysis of different storage operation strategies applied to various prosumer load and generation profiles reveals the effects of storage dispatch strategies on battery aging.     

Operation strategy of distributed energy storage system with multi-battery under output smoothing scenario

随着光伏发电在电网中渗透率的不断增加,光伏发电功率的不确定性和间歇性引起的光伏并网和弃电问题已引起关注。而采用"光伏+储能"的模式,却能有效缓解这一问题。在考虑储能电池容量衰退和光伏弃电率下,通过对不同光伏子阵配备的不同类型储能电池系统的运行进行仿真模拟,以消除光伏发电随机波动特性对电网的冲击为目的,研究平滑输出场景下分布式储能系统的电池的操作策略,优化储能系统中各储能电池子阵的运行。最后,采用共和地区20 MW （峰值）储能实证基地项目多电池储能系统实际案例对本模拟方法进行了验证。     

The potential for integration of hydrogen for complete energy self-sufficiency in residential buildings with photovoltaic and battery storage systems

This paper presents an analysis of energy production in a pilot building located in Slovenia, which is a typical residential house with an installed photovoltaic (PV) system and pilot battery storage system. Energy management system gathers data from smart meters every 15 min. As the pilot building location is in central Europe, complete energy self-sufficiency cannot be provided. The most problematic period of energy production with photovoltaic systems is winter. Solar radiation during the winter is much lower than in the summer and sometimes snow covers photovoltaic panels and disables energy production. Energy production and energy consumption are analyzed for one year. This study shows that complete self-sufficiency can be achieved by supplementing photovoltaic systems with hydrogen fuel cells. The amount of hydrogen, which would suffice for complete self-sufficiency for the whole period, is calculated according to the analyzed data. A synergy between photovoltaic system and hydrogen fuel cells is a step forward to complete self-sufficiency with renewable energy sources. The share of self-sufficiency of a hybrid PV fuel cell system would be 62.13%, meaning that there is no possibility for complete self-sufficiency from the pilot system. The shortage of hydrogen is 144.24 kg for one year and for achieving complete energy self-sufficiency, PV system should be bigger. A hybrid system with photovoltaic system, battery storage system and hydrogen fuel cells can be a solution for complete self-sufficiency. From an economic point of view, such systems are accessible for commercial use. The initial investment is relatively high, because of the high cost of the hydrogen storage tank.     

Design of hybrid power-to-power systems for continuous clean PV-based energy supply

The increasing penetration of intermittent renewable sources, fostering power sector decarbonization, calls for the adoption of energy storage systems as an essential mean to improve local electricity exploitation, reducing the impact of distributed power generation on the electric grid. This work compares the use of hydrogen-based Power-to-Power systems, battery systems and hybrid hydrogen-battery systems to supply a constant 1 MW_el load with electricity locally generated by a photovoltaic plant. A techno-economic optimization model is set up that optimizes the size and annual operation of the system components (photovoltaic field, electrolyzer, hydrogen storage tanks, fuel cell and batteries) with the objective of minimizing the annual average cost of electricity, while guaranteeing an imposed share of local renewable self-generation. Results show that, with the present values of investment costs and grid electricity prices, the installation of an energy storage system is not economically attractive by itself, whereas the installation of PV panels is beneficial in terms of costs, so that the baseline optimal solution consists of a 4.2 MW_p solar field capable to self-generate 33% of the load annually. For imposed shares of self-generation above 40%, decoupling generation and consumption becomes necessary. The use of batteries is slightly less expensive than the use of hydrogen storage systems up to a 92% self-generation rate. Above this threshold, seasonal storage becomes predominant and hybrid storage becomes cheaper than batteries. The sale of excess electricity is always important to support the plant economics, and a sale price reduction sensibly impacts the results. Hydrogen storage becomes more competitive when the need for medium and long terms energy shift increases, e.g. in case of having a cap on the available PV capacity.     

Performance analysis of various hybrid renewable energy systems using battery,hydrogen, and pumped hydro‐based storage units

The aim of this research is to analyze the techno‐economic performance of hybrid renewable energy system (HRES) using batteries, pumped hydro‐based, and hydrogen‐based storage units at Sharurah, Saudi Arabia. The simulations and optimization process are carried out for nine HRES scenarios to determine the optimum sizes of components for each scenario. The optimal sizing of components for each HRES scenario is determined based on the net present cost (NPC) optimization criterion. All of the nine optimized HRES scenarios are then evaluated based on NPC, levelized cost of energy, payback period, CO₂ emissions, excess electricity, and renewable energy fraction. The simulation results show that the photovoltaic (PV)‐diesel‐battery scenario is economically the most viable system with the NPC of US$2.70 million and levelized cost of energy of US$0.178/kWh. Conversely, PV‐diesel‐fuel cell system is proved to be economically the least feasible system. Moreover, the wind‐diesel‐fuel cell is the most economical scenario in the hydrogen‐based storage category. PV‐wind‐diesel‐pumped hydro scenario has the highest renewable energy fraction of 89.8%. PV‐wind‐diesel‐pumped hydro scenario is the most environment‐friendly system, with an 89% reduction in CO₂ emissions compared with the base‐case diesel only scenario. Overall, the systems with battery and pumped hydro storage options have shown better techno‐economic performance compared with the systems with hydrogen‐based storage.     

超级电容器蓄电池混合储能独立光伏系统研究

建立了混合储能系统的数学模型,对系统性能的提升进行了定量分析。提出了一种无源式并联储能方案,并应用于独立光伏系统中,仿真和实验结果表明,在光伏系统的发电功率和负载功率脉动的情况下,蓄电池的充放电电流比较平滑。合理配置超级电容器组的容量,可以减少由于日照量变化所导致的蓄电池充放电小循环次数。对解决光伏等可再生能源系统中蓄电池储能的问题,具有现实意义。     

Fundamental scientific aspects of lithium batteries(I)--Thermodynamic calculations of theoretical energy densities of chemical energy storage systems

本文主要讨论电池的能量密度.基于热力学数据,根据能斯特方程,可以计算不同电化学反应体系的理论能量储存密度,从而了解化学储能体系理论能量密度的上限,了解哪些体系能够实现更高的能量密度,哪些材料具有更高的电压.     

Optimum design of a photovoltaic powered pumping system

Photovoltaic (PV) powered pumping systems are relatively simple and reliable, hence they are applied worldwide. Two conventional techniques are curently in use; the first is the directly coupled technique where a PV array is directly coupled to a d.c. motor-pump group, and the second is the battery buffered PV pumping system where a battery is connected across the array to feed the d.c. motor driving a pump. Recently, a third system is proposed to make use of the advantages of the previously mentioned conventional systems. It is the switched mode PV powered pumping system.

The switched mode PV powered pumping system couples the pumping system to the PV array directly when the storage battery is fully charged as explained in Ref. [5]. The objective of such a system is the maximum utilization of available solar radiation to minimize the cost per pumped cubic meter from a given water depth. For a given location, four main parameters affect the design of this system; (1) d.c. motor-pump group parameters, (2) PV array size, (3) battery storage size and (4) water storage tank size. The system designer has to determine the previously mentioned four parameters so that the minimum cost per pumped cubic meter is achieved. It is found that some factors are more effective in reducing the cost than others. The PV array size is the predominant factor, while the battery storage and water tank sizes have relatively less effect. The system installation cost is considered in the detailed economic analysis discussed in this work.     

Dynamic modeling and sizing optimization of stand-alone photovoltaic power systems using hybrid energy storage technology

Economic and environmental concerns over fossil fuels encourage the development of photovoltaic (PV) energy systems. Due to the intermittent nature of solar energy, energy storage is needed in a stand-alone PV system for the purpose of ensuring continuous power flow. Three stand-alone photovoltaic power systems using different energy storage technologies are studied in this paper. Key components including PV modules, fuel cells, electrolyzers, compressors, hydrogen tanks and batteries are modeled in a clear way so as to facilitate the evaluation of the power systems. Based on energy storage technology, a method of ascertaining minimal system configuration is designed to perform the sizing optimization and reveal the correlations between the system cost and the system efficiency. The three hybrid power systems, i.e., photovoltaic/battery (PV/Battery) system, photovoltaic/fuel cell (PV/FC) system, and photovoltaic/fuel cell/battery (PV/FC/Battery) system, are optimized, analyzed and compared. The obtained results indicate that maximizing the system efficiency while minimizing system cost is a multi-objective optimization problem. As a trade-off solution to the problem, the proposed PV/FC/Battery hybrid system is found to be the configuration with lower cost, higher efficiency and less PV modules as compared with either single storage system.     

Opportunities for utilization of stand-alone hybrid (photovoltaic + diesel + battery) power systems in hot climates

There is a growing awareness that combustion fuels are a limited resource and burning of these fuels is the principal cause of air pollution, and possibly environmental warming. This recognition is elevating interest and activity toward the development and application of alternative/renewable sources of energy, such as solar energy to displace some of the use of fossil fuels. In this context, Saudi Arabia being enriched with fairly high degree of solar radiation, is a suitable candidate for deployment of solar photo-voltaic (PV) panels for power generation in crisis. Literature shows that residential buildings in Saudi Arabia consume about 47% of the total electric energy generated/consumed. In the present study, hourly mean solar radiation data for the period 1986–1993 recorded at the solar radiation and meteorological monitoring station, Dhahran (26° 32’ N, 50°13’ E), Saudi Arabia, have been analyzed to examine/investigate the potential of utilizing hybrid (PV + diesel) power systems to meet the load requirements of a typical residential building (with annual electrical energy demand of 35 200 kWh). The monthly average daily values of solar global irradiation for Dhahran range from 3.61 kwh/m² to 7.96 kwh/m². The hybrid systems considered in the present analysis consist of different combinations of PV panels/modules (different array sizes) supplemented with battery storage unit and diesel back-up. The study shows that with 225 m² PV together with 12 h of battery storage, the diesel back-up system has to provide 9% of the load demand. However, in absence of battery bank, about 58% of the load needs to be provided by the diesel system.     

Computer-aided design of PV/wind hybrid system

A complete set of match calculation methods for optimum sizing of PV/wind hybrid system is presented. In this method, the more accurate and practical mathematic models for characterizing PV module, wind generator and battery are adopted; combining with hourly measured meteorologic data and load data, the performance of a PV/wind hybrid system is determined on a hourly basis; by fixing the capacity of wind generators, the whole year’s LPSP (loss of power supply probability) values of PV/wind hybrid systems with different capacity of PV array and battery bank are calculated, then the trade-off curve between battery bank and PV array capacity is drawn for the given LPSP value; the optimum configuration which can meet the energy demand with the minimum cost can be found by drawing a tangent to the trade-off curve with the slope representing the relationship between cost of PV module and that of the battery. According to this match calculation method, a set of match calculation programs for optimum sizing of PV/wind hybrid systems have been developed. Applying these match calculation programs to an assumed PV/wind hybrid system to be installed at Waglan island of Hong Kong, the optimum configuration and its hourly, daily, monthly and yearly performances are given.     

带蓄电池的光伏系统中MPPT充电效果理论分析

通过对太阳电池组件平面辐照、太阳电池组件特性以及蓄电池负载数学模型计算,分别对北京和广州地区两种典型气候条件下应用MPPT与直接耦合方式的输出情况进行比较和研究,发现在广州地区MPPT的应用意义不大,而在北京地区冬季则能够明显增加太阳电池组件的输出。在带蓄电池的光伏系统中影响MPPT控制器发挥效能的因素被分析和研究,要综合当地全年气温变化、负载状况、经济性以及可靠性等多方面考虑MPPT的应用。     

An investigation of optimum PV and wind energy system capacities for alternate short and long‐term energy storage sizing methodologies

The goal of this study is to find the optimal sizes of renewable energy systems (RES) based on photovoltaic (PV) and/or wind systems for three energy storage system (ESS) scenarios in a micro‐grid; (1) with pumped hydro storage (PHS) as a long‐term ESS, (2) with batteries as a short‐term ESS, and (3) without ESS. The PV and wind sizes are optimally determined to accomplish the maximum annual RES fraction (F_RES ) with electricity cost lower than or equal to the utility tariff. Furthermore, the effect of the use of battery and PHS on the electricity cost and F_RES are studied. A university campus on a Mediterranean island is selected as a case study. The results show that PV‐wind hybrid system of 8 MW wind and 4.2 MW PV with 89.5 MWh PHS has the highest F_RES of 88.0%, and the highest demand supply fraction as 42.6%. Moreover, the results indicate that the economic and technical parameters of RESs are affected significantly by the use of ESSs depending on the type and the capacity of both the RES and the ESS.     

Electricity storage for grid-connected household dwellings with PV panels

Classically electricity storage for PV panels is mostly designed for stand-alone applications. In contrast, we focus in this article on houses connected to the grid with a small-scale storage to store a part of the solar power for postponed consumption within the day or the next days. In this way the house owner becomes less dependent on the grid and does only pay for the net shortage of his energy production. Local storage solutions pave the way for many new applications like omitting over-voltage of the line and bridging periods of power-line black-out. Since 2009 using self-consumption of PV energy is publicly encouraged in Germany, which can be realised by electric storage.This paper develops methods to determine the optimal storage size for grid-connected dwellings with PV panels. From measurements in houses we were able to establish calculation rules for sizing the storage. Two situations for electricity storage are covered: - the storage system is an optimum to cover most of the electricity needs; - it is an optimum for covering the peak power need of a dwelling.After these calculation rules a second step is needed to determine the size of the real battery. The article treats the aspects that should be taken into consideration before buying a specific battery like lead-acid and lithium-ion batteries.