This seminar addresses the critical role of Battery Energy Storage Systems (BESS) in facilitating the integration of variable renewable energy sources, specifically photovoltaic (PV) power plants, into the electrical grid. It highlights the challenges posed by the inherent variability of PV power plants, which lead to grid stability issues due to power fluctuations. Traditional operational strategies for BESS, involving frequent charging and discharging cycles, are shown to exacerbate battery stress, leading to degradation and a reduced lifespan. The seminar explores grid code requirements across various countries and the essential role of BESS in providing ramp rate control, underscoring the need for innovative operational strategies to improve BESS longevity and efficiency.
The seminar introduces a novel focus on a monotonic charging strategy, designed to mitigate battery degradation. This approach segregates BESS units into distinct groups for charging and discharging, thereby optimizing power smoothing and reducing battery wear. This achieves a balance between operational efficiency and battery longevity. In this arrangement, the first group charges up to its maximum limit while the second group simultaneously discharges to its minimum limit, preventing the BESS system from displaying uniform charging and discharging patterns. By employing conditional monitoring of battery charge levels and a forecasting model, the monotonic charging controller can predict short-term power fluctuations and estimate remaining energy levels, reducing the need for all batteries to be active at once. The effectiveness of this strategy is highlighted by its significant reduction in battery degradation; using the monotonic charging strategy with multiple units results in minimal degradation—only up to 0.1877% and 0.1918% degradation when two units are used, compared to up to 9.1514% degradation with a single unit handling PV variability smoothing. The seminar will conclude with a discussion on the potential applications of this sophisticated control mechanism, providing insights into improving BESS operations, extending battery lifespan, and facilitating the efficient integration of renewable energy into the grid.
Ammar Atif Abdalla received his B.Sc. degree in Electrical Engineering (Honors) and his first M.Sc. degree in Engineering Project Management from Sudan University of Science and Technology, Khartoum, Sudan, in 2014 and 2018, respectively. He obtained his second M.Sc. degree in Electrical Engineering from King Fahd University of Petroleum and Minerals, Dhahran, Saudi Arabia, in 2020. Currently, he is pursuing his Ph.D. degree at Khalifa University, Abu Dhabi, UAE, where he also serves as a Graduate Research and Teaching Assistant in the Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science. His research interests include variability smoothing in photovoltaic power plants, aging and energy management algorithms for energy storage systems, machine learning applications in power systems, the operation and stability of microgrids, and the provision of ancillary services. He was the recipient of the Best Paper Award at ICCCEEE19 in Sudan in 2019 and the Outstanding Graduate Student Award from Khalifa University in 2023.
