Energy Storage Combined with Solar PVs for Large Facilities
Typ
Examensarbete för masterexamen
Master's Thesis
Master's Thesis
Program
Product development (MPPDE), MSc
Sustainable energy systems (MPSES), MSc
Sustainable energy systems (MPSES), MSc
Publicerad
2023
Författare
Bähr, Hanna
Svensson, Maria
Modellbyggare
Tidskriftstitel
ISSN
Volymtitel
Utgivare
Sammanfattning
As part of the fight against the ongoing climate change, there has been a strong emphasis
on implementing fossil-free energy sources. This has resulted in an increased demand for
renewable energy sources, which in turn has put pressure on the development of such technologies.
One renewable energy technique that has gained popularity, even in Sweden, is
solar photovoltaic (PV). Solar power is intermittent, thus combining it with energy storage
systems is beneficial in order to mitigate the intermittency and to overcome the mismatch
between production and load.
This master thesis investigates the suitability of investing in solar PV’s and combining
them with either battery storage and hydrogen storage, the two most popular storage
technologies to combine with PV’s. The scope includes commercial facilities located in
the SE3 region of Sweden, and three electricity demands have been addressed in order
to give the results a realistic foundation. Each demand pertains to a different facility
type with varying yearly electricity demands: an office building, a production site, and
a warehouse facility. Additionally, four different models were created in the study, using
the linear optimization program GAMS, General Algebraic Modeling System, to address
different cases. Two reference models were created for comparison of the results, one with
no investments in neither PV’s nor storage system, referring to a "business as usual" scenario,
and one with the possibility to only invest in PV’s. Furthermore, two models also
enabled the possibility to invest in solar PV’s with or without the combination with either
battery storage or hydrogen storage. In each model, three different optimization scenarios
were tested, one only minimizing the total system cost, one minimizing the system cost
with the goal of also increasing the self-sufficiency rate, and the third only testing the
feasibility of becoming 100% self-sufficient.
The findings suggest that achieving complete self-sufficiency with solar PV’s and energy
storage within reasonable limits is not feasible, considering the typical electricity demand
profiles of commercial buildings. In the situations where a storage system could be suitable,
it was shown that battery storage outperforms hydrogen storage based on current
data and input parameters. How much economical benefits a storage system can bring was
proven to be highly dependent on the amount of excess electricity that the facility had,
being more favourable when the excess rate was higher. It also shows that the incentive of
investing in solar PV’s is higher when the electricity prices are high, and when it thereby is
a potential profit created by electricity trading. Sensitivity analyses have also been carried
out, assessing the results dependency on current values on taxes, component costs, etc.
Investment costs are the most influential factor for improving system cost. Overall, these
findings provide a framework for companies interested in exploring the business potential
of energy storage investments.
Beskrivning
Ämne/nyckelord
solar PV’s , energy storage , battery , hydrogen , self-sufficiency , optimization , cost