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INTEGRATION OF DISTRIBUTED SOLAR POWER GENERATION

USING BATTERY ENERGY STORAGE SYSTEM
K.MOUNIKA

Sri.G.VEERANNA

M.E(Power Systems & Automation)

Asst.Professor

Department Electrical & Electronics Engineering,

S.R.K.R Engineering college,
Bhimavaram,
Andhra Pradesh

Abstract : This paper presents an overview of

sunlight into electricity using semiconductors that

the challenges of integrating solar power to the

exhibit the photovoltaic effect. Photovoltaic effect

electricity distribution system, a technical

involves the creation of voltage in a material upon

overview of battery energy storage systems, and

exposure to electromagnetic radiation. The solar cell

illustrates a variety of modes of operation for

is the elementary building block of the photovoltaic

battery energy storage systems in grid-tied solar

technology. Solar cells are made of semiconductor

applications. . Battery energy storage systems are

materials, such as silicon. One of the properties of

increasingly being used to help integrate solar

semiconductors that makes them most useful is that

power into the grid. These systems are capable of

their conductivity may easily be modified by

absorbing and delivering both real and reactive

introducing impurities into their crystal lattice.

The integration of significant amounts of

power with sub -second response times. With

these capabilities, battery energy storage systems

photovoltaic (PV) solar power generation to the

can mitigate such issues with solar power

electric grid poses a unique set of challenges to

generation as ramp rate, frequency, and voltage

utilities and system operators. Power from grid-

issues. Specifically, grid-tied solar power

connected solar PV units is generated in quantities

generation is a distributed resource whose output

from a few kilowatts to several MW, and is then

can change extremely rapidly, resulting in many

pushed out to power grids at the distribution level,

issues for the distribution system operator with a

where the systems were often designed for 1-way

large quantity of installed photovoltaic devices.

power flow from the substation to the customer. In

climates with plentiful sunshine, the widespread

Index Terms Battery energy storage systems,

adoption of solar PV means distributed generation on

photovoltaic, renewable, solar.

a scale never before seen on the grid.

Grid-connected

I.

INTRODUCTION

solar

PV

dramatically

changes the load pro-file of an electric utility

Photovoltaic is the field of technology and

customer. The expected widespread adoption of solar

research related to the devices which directly convert

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generation by customers on the distribution system

counteract the change in generation. In small power

poses significant challenges to system operators both

systems, frequency can also be adversely affected by

in transient and steady state operation, from issues

sudden changes in PV generation. Battery energy

including voltage swings, sudden weather -induced

storage systems (BESS), whether centrally located at

changes in generation, and legacy protective devices

the substation or distributed along a feeder, can

designed with one-way power flow in mind. When

provide power quickly in such scenarios to minimize

there is plenty of sunshine during the day, local solar

customer interruptions. Grid-scale BESS can mitigate

generation can reduce the net demand on a

the above challenges while improving system

distribution feeder, possibly to the point that there is

reliability and improving the economics of the

a net power outflow to the grid. In addition, solar

renewable resource.

power is converted from dc to ac by power electronic

This paper describes the operation and

converters capable of delivering power to the grid.

control methodologies for

Due to market inefficiencies, the typical solar

designed to mitigate the negative impacts of PV

generator is often not financially rewarded for

integration,

providing reactive power support, so small inverters

distribution system efficiency and operation. The

are often operated such that they produce only real

fundamentals of solar PV integration and BESS

power while operating a lagging power factor,

technology are presented below, followed by specific

effectively taking in or absorbing reactive power, and

considerations in the control system design of solar

increasing the required current on the feeder for a

PV coupled BESS installations. The PV-coupled

given amount of real power. A radial distribution

BESS systems described in this paper utilize the XP-

feeder with significant solar PV generation has the

Dynamic Power Resource (XP-DPR).

potential to generate most of its own real power

II.

while

a grid-scale BESS

improving

overall

power

PHOTOVOLTAIC
INTEGRATION

during daylight hours, while drawing significant

reactive power.
Modest

Solar powers inherent intermittency poses

levels of solar PV generation

on

distribution circuits can be easily managed by the

challenges in terms of power quality and reliability.

distribution system operator (DSO). However, both

A weather event such as a thunderstorm has the

the DSO and the customers of electric retail service

potential to reduce solar generation from maximum

may soon feel the undesirable impacts on the grid as

output to negligible levels in a very short time. Wide-

PV penetration levels increase.

area weather related output fluctuations can be

A PV system consists of a number of

strongly correlated in a given geographical area,

interconnected components designed to accomplish a

which means that the set of solar PV generators on

desired task, which may be to feed electricity into the

feeders down-line of the same substation has the

main distribution grid. There are two main system

potential to drastically reduce its generation in the

configurations stand-alone and grid-connected. As

face of a mid-day weather event. The resulting output

its name implies, the stand-alone PV system operates

fluctuations can adversely affect the grid in the form

independently of any other power supply and it

of voltage sags if steps are not taken to quickly

usually supplies electricity to a dedicated load or

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INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE ON CURRENT INNOVATIONS IN ENGINEERING AND TECHNOLOGY

loads. It may include a storage facility (e.g. battery

= 0.01

ISBN: 378 - 26 - 138420 - 5

bank) to allow electricity to be provided during the

night or at times of poor sunlight levels. Stand-alone

(6)

systems are also often referred to as autonomous

systems since their operation is independent of other

Based on (6), it is evident that the power

power sources. By contrast, the grid-connected PV

delivered by the PV array is a function of insolation

system operates in parallel with the conventional

level at any given temperature.

electricity distribution system. It can be used to feed

electricity into the grid distribution system or to
power loads which can also be fed from the grid.
The PV array characteristic is described by
the following;
=

(2)

In (2), q is the unit charge, k the Boltzmans

constant, A is the p-n junction ideality factor, and Tc
the cell temperature. Current irs is the cell reverse
Fig. 1. Simplifi ed one-line diagram of a BESS in parallel with
a Solar PV fa-cility connected to the grid.

saturation current, which varies with temperature

according to
=

(3)

III.

BATTERY ENERGY STORAGE

In (3), Tref is the cell reference temperature,

the reverse saturation current at Tref. and EG

A. Battery Energy Storage Basics

the

band-gap energy of the cell. The PV current iph

A grid-scale BESS consists of a battery bank,

depends on the insolation level and the cell

control system, power electronics interface for ac - dc

temperature according to

power

conversion, protective circuitry, and a

transformer to convert the BESS output to the

= 0.01

(4)

transmission or distribution system voltage level. The

In (4), iscr is the cell short-circuit current at

one- line diagram of a simple BESS is shown in Fig.

the reference temperature and radiation, Kv a

1. A BESS is typically connected to the grid in

temperature coefficient, and the insolation level in

parallel with the source or loads it is providing

kW/m . The power delivered by the PV array is

benefits to, whereas tradi-tional uninterruptible

calculated by multiplying both sides of (2) by vpv.

power supplies (UPS) are installed in series with their

loads. The power conversion unit is typically a bi-

(5)

directional unit capable of four quadrant operation,

Substituting iph from (4) in (5), Ppv becomes

means that both real and reactive power can be

delivered or absorbed independently according to the

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ISBN: 378 - 26 - 138420 - 5

needs of the power system, up to the rated apparent

power of the converter.

Most BESS control systems can be operated via

automatic generation control (AGC) signals much

The battery bank consists of many batteries

connected

in

combination

like a conventional utility generation asset, or it can

series-parallel

be operated in a solar-coupled mode where real and

configuration to provide the desired power and

reactive power commands for the converter will be

energy capabilities for the application. Units are

generated many times per second based on real -time

typically described with two numbers, the nameplate

PV output and power system data. In the case of the

power given in MW, and the maximum storage time

XP -DPR, three -phase measurements from potential

given in MWh. The BESS described in this paper is a

and current transducers (PTs and CTs) are taken in

1.5/1 unit, means it stores 1 MWh of energy, and can

real-time on an FPGA device, and once digitized

charge or discharge at a maximum power level of 1.5

these signals become the input for proprietary real

MW. In renewable energy applications, it is common

time control algorithms operating at kHz speeds.

to operate a BESS under what is known as partial

Various control algorithms have been used for PV

state of charge duty (PSOC), a practice that keeps the

applications, providing control of ramp rates,

batteries partially discharged at all times so that they

frequency support.

are capable of either absorbing from or discharging

power onto the grid as needed.

Fig.2.Configuration of the grid-connected hybrid PV /Battery generation system

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generators. Frequency deviation is caused by a

B.Ramp Rate Control

Solar PV generation facilities have no

mismatch in generation and load, as given by the

inertial components, and the generated power can

swing equation for a Thevenin equivalent power

change very quickly when the sun becomes obscured

source driving the grid. The system inertia is

by passing cloud cover. On small power systems with

typically described using a normalized inertia

high penetrations of PV generation, this can cause

constant called the H constant, defined as

serious problems with power delivery, as traditional

thermal units struggle to maintain the balance of

power in the face of rapid changes. During solar -

H can be estimated by the frequency response of the

coupled operation, the BESS must counteract quick

system after a step-change such as a unit or load trip.

changes in output power to ensure that the facility

The equation can be re-written so that the system H is

delivers ramp rates deemed acceptable to the system

easily calculated from the change in frequency of the

operator. Allowable ramp rates are typically speci-

system after a generator of known size has tripped

fied by the utility in kilowatts per minute (kW/min),

off, according to

and are a common feature of new solar and wind

1
=2

power purchase agree-ments between utilities and

independent power producers. Here the ramp rate

1
2

refers only to real power, and that the reactive power

capabilities of the BESS can be dispatched simultane-

where the unit of H is seconds,

is system angular

ously and independently to achieve other power

speed,

system goals.

remaining generation online after the unit trip, and

Ramp Rate Control algorithm used in the XP-DPR

is the system frequency,

is the

is the size of the generator that has tripped.

continuously monitors the real power output of the

When frequency crosses a certain threshold, it is

solar generator, and commands the unit to charge or

desirable to command the BESS to charge in the case

discharge such that the total power output to the

of over-frequency events, typically caused by loss of

system is within the boundaries defined by the

load, or to discharge for under-frequency events,

requirements of the utility. The system ramp rate is

which often result when a generator has tripped

maintained to less than 50 kw/min, whereas the solar

offline. Using proportional control to deliver or

resource alone had a maximum second-to- second

absorb power in support of the grid frequency

ramp rate of over 4 MW/min.

stabilization is referred to as droop response, and this

C. Frequency Response

is common behavior in generator governors equipped

Even with ramp- rate control, there are still going

with a speed-droop or regulation characteristic.

to be occasional frequency deviations on the system.

Droop response in a governor is characterized as a

On small, low-voltage systems, it is common to see

proportional controller with a gain of 1/R, with R

frequency deviations of 13 Hz from the nominal 50

defined as

or 60 Hz frequency. Frequency deviation has adverse

effects on many types of loads as well as other

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Where

ISBN: 378 - 26 - 138420 - 5

is the grid frequency,

frequency dead band, and

Where

is steady-state speed at no load,

steady-state speed at full load, and

is the

is the power

rating of the BESS in KVA.

is

A set of droop characteristic curves for a 1 MW

is the nominal

BESS is depicted in Fig. 3.

or rated speed of the generator. This means that a 5%

droop response should result in a 100% change in
power output when frequency has changed by 5%, or
3 Hz on a 60 Hz power system.
Since the BESS uses a power electronics
interface, there is no inertia or speed in the system,
and we must approximate this desirable behavior
found in thermal generators. The straight forward
implementation is to digitally calculate an offset for
the BESS output power command as response
proportional to the frequency. The response has units
of kW and is determined as

Fig. 3. Frequency droop response curves for 5% response on a

1 MW BESS.

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IV.

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SIMULATION RESULTS

The photovoltaic and battery energy storage system

are combined and connected to the grid and is
simulated in Simulink /MATLAB R2009a.

Fig.4., Results For Solor Power Measured Over 24 Hours

Fig.5., Ramp Rate control to 50 kW/min for a 1 MW photovoltaic installation and a 1.5 MW/1 MWh BESS for a full day

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Fig. 5., depicts the operation of an XP-DPR BESS

[3] C. Hill and D. Chen, Development of a real-

smoothing the volatile power output of a 1 MW solar

time testing environment for battery energy

farm. Here the system ramp rate is maintained to less

storage

than 50 kW/min, whereas the solar resource alone had a

applications, in Proc. IEEE Power Energy Soc.

maximum second-to- second ramp rate of over

Gen. Meeting, Detroit, MI, Jul. 2011.

4MW/min.

systems

in

renewable

energy

[4] A. Nourai and C. Schafer, Changing the

electricity game, IEEE Power Energy Mag.,
vol. 7, no. 4, pp. 4247, Jul./Aug. 2009.

V.

CONCLUSION

[5] R. H. Newnham, W. G. A Baldsing, and A.

Integration of energy storage systems into

Baldsing, Advanced man-agement strategies for

the grid to manage the real power variability of solar

remote-area power-supply systems, J. Power

by providing rate variation control can optimize the

Sources, vol. 133, pp. 141146, 2004.

benefits of solar PV. Using the BESS to provide

[6] C. D. Parker and J. Garche, Battery energy-

voltage stability through dynamic var support, and

storage systems for power supply networks, in

frequency regulation via droop control response

Valve-Regulated Lead Acid Batteries, D. A. J.

reduces integration challenges associated solar PV.

Rand, P. T. Mosely, J. Garche, and C. D. Parker,

Coupling solar PV and storage will drastically

Eds. , Amsterdam, The Netherlands: Elsevier,

increase reliability of the grid, enables more effective

2004, pp. 295326.

grid management, and creates a dispatchable power

[7] N. W. Miller, R. S. Zrebiec, R. W. Delmerico,

product from available resources. Battery energy

and G. Hunt, Design and commissioning of a 5

storage systems can also improve the economics of

MVA, 2.5 MWh battery energy storage, in

distributed solar power generation by reduced need

Proc. 1996 IEEE Power Eng. Soc. Transm.

for cycle traditional generation assets and increasing

Distrib. Conf., pp. 339345.

asset utilization of existing utility generation by

[8] Analysis of a valve-regulated lead-acid battery

allowing the coupled PV solar and BESS to provide

operating in utility en-ergy storage system for

frequency and voltage regulation services.

more than a decade, 2009.

[9] A. Nourai, R. Sastry, and T. Walker, A vision &
strategy for deploy-ment of energy storage in

VI.

REFERENCES

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[10] P. Kundur, Power System Stability and Control.

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