PV Battery Storage

About

Renewable resources have become increasingly obtainable and affordable thanks to the development of technology and the enactment of government policies. One of such renewables is photovoltaic (PV) power. Battery energy storage systems play a vital role in assisting high penetration PV connections to the power grid. When renewable energy sources, including PV power, are connected to a power grid, problems such as intermittency related to cloud cover, and mismatch in time between load demand and power generation can arise. This poses a challenge for electric supply because electric utilities are required to deliver reliable power to users, and must operate utility grids within strict voltage limits. Thus, there is a present market need for technology that addresses intermittency needs and creates renewable energy resources more reliable. Researchers at University of New Mexico have developed a novel algorithm aimed at firming the power from PV by controlled charging and discharging of a battery energy storage system. The algorithm can achieve optimization of the economics of the system through number of varying ways, including meeting the physical demands of the system and delivering power when price of energy is high. Furthermore, energy is capable of being delivered in a predictable manner and economic benefit is maximized by delivering power when it is most valuable to the system. Most importantly, this algorithm has been field tested using real utility-scale hardware.