Date of Award

12-2015

Document Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Master of Science (MS)

Legacy Department

Electrical Engineering

Committee Member

Dr. Elham Makram, Committee Chair

Committee Member

Dr. Randy Collings

Committee Member

Dr. Nikolas Rigas

Abstract

Renewable Energy Sources are becoming more popular mostly due to their reduced carbon footprint. One major issue that keeps them from becoming more popular is their output variability. Energy Storage Systems have been gaining a lot of “traction” into the power grid since they can address that variability and make RES more controllable. In this thesis, various Energy Storage Systems are introduced, while Battery Energy Storage Systems and their various technologies are studied in more detail. BESS are commonly used in supporting Photovoltaic Power Plants, as they provide the convenience of a shared DC bus. This thesis also includes an overview in solar energy technologies in order to assess the complexities of solar energy harvesting, through a PPP. A mathematical approach that quantifies the financial and operational impacts of a BESS is developed. Specifically, two test cases are investigated: intermittency mitigation of a PPP using a BESS and optimal scheduling of microgrid with BESS. The former problem is formulated as a Mixed Integer Linear Programming problem while the latter is formulated as a Linear Programming problem. Both algorithms provide accurate solutions while achieving optimality. The study concludes with a financial model for the optimal operation of an advanced lead-acid BESS and the outcome is analyzed.

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