BESS does not consist of battery only, but it is a complete power system whether integrated with Grid Network or Solar PV system. BESS consists of Lithium-Ion Battery racks, Power conditioner Units (PCUs) Battery management systems, safety and protections system, Fire safety, Power and Energy Management systems.

Solar energy is variable due to spatial, and weather conditions and always needs any alternate source for its stability and optimized performance. BESS integration depends upon the architecture of the Solar PV system. Solar PV system can be in off-grid architecture or grid connected architecture. In the case of integration with off-grid architecture, the application of BESS is to provide energy when solar power is not available or when there are clouds and load fluctuation. BESS application in off-grid system architecture is to provide energy when solar is not available and smooth out the output also during load fluctuations. In case of integration with grid connected architecture of solar PV system, BESS application is to provide energy when grid is not available, stabilizing the grid in terms of frequency when load is varying from low to high or grid fluctuations, provide low cost energy during peak hours when grid energy is costly and provide backup power when any storm occurs or in black out conditions and also help in black start situations. BESS can play a crucial role in improving the efficiency and reliability in black starts of generators.

BESS does not consist of battery only, but it is a complete power system whether integrated with Grid Network or Solar PV system. BESS consists of Lithium-Ion Battery racks, Power conditioner Units (PCUs) Battery management systems, safety and protections system, Fire safety, Power and Energy Management systems. Mega watts units are available in containers with pug and play capability.

BESS design depends upon multiple factors, including technical, economical, environmental and regulatory conditions. Technical factors include type of battery to be used (Lithium or flow batteries), Power and capacity requirements, battery management system (BMS) and Power conditioning Units (PCUs). Economic and financial factors include capital cost and levelized cost of energy, lifetime and degradation, return on investment and revenue streams. Application and specific factors include grid connected BESS or OFF-grid BESS, type of integration, response time requirements. Environmental and safety considerations include thermal management, safety and fire risk mitigations. Regulatory and policy factors include grid interconnection standards, Government incentives and market regulations. In some countries percentage of the total solar PV modules size has been fixed like in Spain 5% of the module size has been fixed. This has been done to ensure grid stability, optimize renewable energy integration and manage excess power generation.

We conclude that BESS plays a crucial role in improving reliability of the solar PV system by mitigating the challenges associated with intermittency, grid stability and power quality.

Introduction of Author

Author is Solar PV Expert and CEO Techfa Consulting registered with Pakistan Engineering Council as consultant. He is accredited trainer by Traccert Canada and GIZ Pakistan. He has more than 35 years of experience of working in National and International organizations at various technical and managerial positions. He is founder chairman Pakistan Solar Association, Founder Punjab chapter chairman of REAP and founder president of AEE Pakistan chapter. He is a trainer, consultant and speaker. He can be approved at faiz.bhutta@gmail,com