Analysis of the optimum allocation of BESS for contingency support

Abstract

The development of energy storage technologies is considered a key issue to increase the flexibility of future power systems and to achieve high penetration levels of renewable generation. In recent years, battery-based storage has attracted great interest due to the cost reduction of lithium-ion batteries. In addition, the modularity of batteries makes possible to develop not only grid-scale energy storage facilities connected at transmission voltage levels but also smaller distributed energy storage systems connected at distribution voltage levels. However, it must be taken into account that the size and services provided by batteries depend on their location in the power system. In this paper, a methodology to determine the optimal location of battery based electrical energy storage systems for contingency support is presented. The methodology has been applied to a Spanish power system to evaluate the effect of batteries on contingency support when installed either in the transmission network or in the distribution network.