Techno-Economic Comparison of Stationary Storage and Battery-Electric Buses for Mitigating Solar Intermittency

Abstract

The need to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from power generation has led to more and more installation of renewable energies such as wind and solar power. However, the high intermittency of these generators poses a threat to electrical grid stability. The power output of solar photovoltaic (PV) installations, for instance, depends on the solar irradiance, and consequently on weather conditions. In order to mitigate the adverse effects of solar intermittency, storage such as batteries can be deployed. However, the cost of a stationary energy storage system (SESS) is high, particularly for large PV installations. Battery electric vehicles (BEVs) are an alternative to SESS. With increasing number of BEVs, more and more storage capacity becomes available while these vehicles are charging. In this paper, we compare stationary batteries to mobile batteries of battery electric buses (BEBs) in a public bus terminus for balancing fluctuations of solar PV installations. Public buses have been chosen due to their large batteries and because they are more easily manageable than private cars. An optimisation model has been developed considering both the bus operator’s and the PV operator’s objectives. Cycle ageing of batteries is included in the investigation. Our analysis reveals that utilising public BEBs with high battery capacity to balance solar PV fluctuations can present a positive financial case.

Keywords

• photovoltaics
• electric buses
• solar balancing
• battery ageing
• optimal operation