Break-Even Points of Battery Energy Storage Systems for Peak Shaving Applications

Claudia Rahmann, Benjamin Mac-Clure, Vijay Vittal and Felipe Valencia
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Claudia Rahmann: Department of Electrical Engineering, University of Chile, 8370451 Santiago, Chile
Benjamin Mac-Clure: Department of Electrical Engineering, University of Chile, 8370451 Santiago, Chile
Vijay Vittal: School of Electrical, Computer and Energy Engineering, Arizona State University, P.O. Box 875706, Tempe, AZ 85287, USA
Felipe Valencia: Department of Electrical Engineering, University of Chile, 8370451 Santiago, Chile

Energies, 2017, vol. 10, issue 7, 1-13

Abstract: In the last few years, several investigations have been carried out in the field of optimal sizing of energy storage systems (ESSs) at both the transmission and distribution levels. Nevertheless, most of these works make important assumptions about key factors affecting ESS profitability such as efficiency and life cycles and especially about the specific costs of the ESS, without considering the uncertainty involved. In this context, this work aims to answer the question: what should be the costs of different ESS technologies in order to make a profit when considering peak shaving applications? The paper presents a comprehensive sensitivity analysis of the interaction between the profitability of an ESS project and some key parameters influencing the project performance. The proposed approach determines the break-even points for different ESSs considering a wide range of life cycles, efficiencies, energy prices, and power prices. To do this, an optimization algorithm for the sizing of ESSs is proposed from a distribution company perspective. From the results, it is possible to conclude that, depending on the values of round trip efficiency, life cycles, and power price, there are four battery energy storage systems (BESS) technologies that are already profitable when only peak shaving applications are considered: lead acid, NaS, ZnBr, and vanadium redox.

Keywords: energy storage systems; peak shaving; distributed power generation (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: Q Q0 Q4 Q40 Q41 Q42 Q43 Q47 Q48 Q49 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2017
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (11)

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