Market Participation Opportunities for Battery Energy Storage Systems and the Technology Requirements

Over the past few decades, the advancement and proliferation of cost-efficient, energy-dense, and reusable batteries have transformed our lives. While this may have started in the 80s with the boombox and Walkman, today the technology that make our modern lives possible, like cell phones and laptops, are dependent on batteries that free us from needing to constantly be next to an outlet. And we are now experiencing the beginning of the next era when batteries are revolutionizing the grid in the same way.  

Battery energy storage systems (BESS) are becoming so sophisticated that they can provide a suite of ancillary services that were once exclusively the domain of conventional thermal power plants. When these batteries with advanced control technologies are strategically integrated into the grid, they enhance the reliability, resilience, and overall stability of energy generation, transmission, and distribution.   

As the grid becomes increasingly decentralized, the aggregation and orchestration of batteries for the following key ancillary services will be increasingly critical:

Energy Shifting:

The implementation of utility-scale battery storage facilities can compensate for and regulate the energy flow during times of or in areas with congestion. Battery energy storage can absorb excess renewable energy during periods of high generation (i.e. midday solar peaks or overnight wind peaks) and release it during periods of high demand. This decreases the strain on the grid, reducing congestion and ultimately improving reliability. 

Black Start:

Storage systems also provide critical black-start capabilities, enabling power to be restored to portions of the grid after a system-wide outage. This makes it easier and faster to bring renewable-powered microgrids and isolated systems back online, improving overall restoration times. 

Frequency Response:

PV + battery systems, or PV-only curtailed systems, can ramp output up or down to provide frequency response services. In addition, they can offer contingency reserves that historically only spinning reserves were only able to provide. Battery or PV inverters can also improve grid reliability by participating in various frequency regulation programs, such as FFR, FCR, and others. 

Voltage and Reactive Power:

PV plants with grid-forming inverters and batteries can both provide reactive power compensation, voltage support, and other dynamic support services, reducing reliance on capacitor banks or synchronous condensers. This helps to improve local voltage profiles in distribution networks. 

Ramping Services:

Batteries provide ramping support for both short-time and long-time intervals. To compensate for the interment nature of renewables caused by changing weather, batteries can quickly ramp up to provide stability. While during the evening time, when PV production begins to decrease at the same time that energy demand increases, batteries can quickly ramp up, eliminating the duck curve problem.  

 

These are just a few examples of the types of market opportunities in which batteries can participate to enhance transmission and distribution reliability. However, for batteries to fully realize their potential, they need to be paired with advanced control and forecasting mechanisms. This not only helps enhance grid reliability, but also ensure a stronger ROI for the battery owner. The key control and prediction technologies for batteries include:

Enhanced Forecasting and Predictive Analytics:

Advanced weather and load forecasting tools improve the predictability of renewable generation and electricity demand. This reduces the need for expensive, last-minute balancing actions and helps to optimize renewable generation and storage deployment.

Virtual Power Plant (VPP) Integration:

VPPs aggregate diverse renewable energy and storage resources, making them appear as a single, controllable entity to the grid operator. By coordinating these resources, operators can maintain stable voltage and frequency levels, offer peak shaving, and seamlessly island and reconnect microgrids as needed for reliability and resilience.

Coordinated Demand Response:

Successful demand response programs require connected batteries and smart controls to manage energy usage. Simply relying on consumers to change their usage behaviors, such as with TOU billing, is not reliable. By managing load shifting and peak reduction, smart control technology supports improved incorporation of renewables without compromising reliability.   

 

The bottom line is for batteries to fully realize their potential and provide critical ancillary services, they require a sophisticated energy management solution (EMS), including predictive analytics and AI. Want to learn more about deploying an advanced EMS for your battery? Check out our energy management solution.

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