Comparative Study of Ramp-Rate Control Algorithms for PV with Energy Storage Systems

Abstract

The high variability of solar irradiance, originated by moving clouds, causes fluctuations in Photovoltaic (PV) power generation, and can negatively impact the grid stability. For this reason, grid codes have incorporated ramp-rate limitations for the injected PV power. Energy Storage Systems (ESS) coordinated by ramp-rate (RR) control algorithms are often applied for mitigating these power fluctuations to the grid. These algorithms generate a power reference to the ESS that opposes the PV fluctuations, reducing them to an acceptable value. Despite their common use, few performance comparisons between the different methods have been presented, especially from a battery status perspective. This is highly important, as different smoothing methods may require the battery to operate at different regimes (i.e., number of cycles and cycles deepness), which directly relates to the battery lifetime performance. This paper intends to fill this gap by analyzing the different methods under the same irradiance profile, and evaluating their capability to limit the RR and maintain the battery State of Charge (SOC) at the end of the day. Moreover, an analysis into the ESS capacity requirements for each of the methods is quantified. Finally, an analysis of the battery cycles and its deepness is performed based on the well-established rainflow cycle counting method.

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