Search

This paper analyzes the minimum energy capacity ratings that an energy-storage (ES) system should accomplish in order to achieve a defined constant power production in a photovoltaic (PV) power plant. ES is a key issue for the further integration of intermittent and stochastic renewable energy sources, which are not currently dispatchable due to their dependence on real-time weather conditions, as is the case of PV technology. This paper proposes and describes an energy management strategy (EMS) for operating PV power plants with ES in the future. The goal of this EMS is to endow these power plants with a constant production that can be controlled and hence traded on electricity markets. This paper presents simulated results on the percentage of time throughout the year during which a large-scale PV+ES plant operates properly with different ES ratings and according to different configurations of this EMS. Finally, a test bench was developed, and experimental results validating this EMS were obtained, Postprint (published version)

In this paper a hybrid microgrid system, composed of RES (Renewable Energy System) and CHP (Combined Heat and Power) systems together with a battery based storage system is presented. The microgrid is accompanied by a centralized energy management system (CEMS) in order to optimize the microgrid operation both in grid-connected and in stand-alone modes. In grid-connected mode the optimization of the economic exploitation of the microgrid is privileged by applying optimization techniques. In stand-alone mode, management functions are applied to improve the reliability of the facility by means of islanding operation capability. The optimization analysis has been carried out in simulation while the reliability improvement of the microgrid operation has been analyzed in simulation and proven experimentally., Peer Reviewed, Postprint (published version)