2020 IEEE Student Conference on Research and Development (SCOReD)

27-28 September 2020, Johor, Malaysia

Grid-Connected Solar PV Plant Surplus Energy

Utilization Using Battery Energy Storage System

Jianwen Hoon, Member, IEEE(HKN) Rodney H.G. Tan, Member, IEEE

Department of Electrical and Department of Electrical and
Electronics Engineering Electronics Engineering
UCSI UNIVERSITY UCSI UNIVERSITY
KUALA LUMPUR, MALAYSIA KUALA LUMPUR MALAYSIA
[email protected] [email protected]

Abstract—This paper aims to develop a charge & discharge 14], or to predict BESS charge power using forecast load
controller for 700kWh/540kW Battery Energy Storage System demand [15] without proper combination of both Surplus
(BESS) with and its integration with Grid-connected 3MWp Solar energy utilization and peak-off-peak hours for charge
Solar PV Plant. The BESS plays its very important role to store discharge operation of BESS.
surplus solar PV power and to perform functions such as load
shifting for the economic benefits of electricity consumers. The This paper applies actual recorded information from an
BESS Charge Discharge Control Strategy serves the purpose to operational solar PV plant as a basis to analyze the economic
allow battery charging operation when surplus PV power performances of BESS using BESS Charge Discharge Control
presents after supplying to the load demand and consistently Strategy to cater for various PV energy production in different
charging during off-peak hours with lower electricity cost weather conditions [16] and consistently utilize off-peak grid
compared of peak hours. Similarly, the control system operates power and Surplus Solar PV energy to charge BESS and
discharging operation when PV power does not meet the load
discharge the stored energy during Peak hours. The economic
demand while being within the peak hours defined by the
electricity provider. The integration of functions of load Shifting analysis is conducted with required components such as
of the BESS, together with the Solar PV plant will be able to battery charge-discharge controller, power conversion system
reduce the campus load consumption from the power grid and battery modeling [17] modeled in MATLAB/Simulink.
significantly while being cost-effective. The obtained results Constraints are including not considering maximum demand
based on the proposed control strategy demonstrate that cost to tackle the inconsistent fit-in tariff policies. Therefore,
minimum energy cost can be saved from this BESS is $14.25/day the economic benefit of this control algorithm can be further
regardless any weather conditions, $81.12/day during high maximized with the mentioned constraints.
variability day, and $53.41/day during clear sky day; with the
constraints of not considering maximum demand cost and fit-in II. METHODOLOGY
tariff.
In this paper, the Charge & Discharge controller in Battery
Keywords—Battery Energy Storage System (BESS), solar PV Energy Storage System (BESS) with capacity and output of
plant, Load Shaving, Load Shifting. 700kWh/540kW is designed for its integration with Grid-
connected 3MWp Solar PV Plant. Numerical modeling
I. INTRODUCTION approach in Matlab Simulink is chosen to develop the
Energy storage system contributes its vital role in the global proposed system. The control function of the BESS is
trend to fight climate change by reducing carbon emissions mimicked using a mathematical function.
and utilizing renewable energy generation. The stored energy
in the BESS will then be used for various applications which This model consists of four main blocks including Campus
peak-load shaving and shifting being its main functions during Load, PV farm, BESS, and Power Grid. The Campus Load
peak-period when power demand is higher than the solar PV and PV power are information imported “from Workspace”
plant could supply [1-2]. With the difference in cost between block to read load profile and PV energy profile from Matlab
peak and off-peak hours, cost-saving objective can be workspace in minute manner. The overview of the On-Grid
achieved by charging BESS during off-peak hours and when PV-BESS system is shown in Fig.1.
surplus PV power is available, then discharge to supply to the
load during peak hours [3-5]. Battery technologies are The BESS block receives load and PV profile to compute
including Electrochemical, Electromagnetic, charging-discharging operation based on its setting. Result of
Thermodynamic, and the most used are technologies are lead- total grid usage is then sent to Power Grid Matlab workspace
acid and lithium-ion. Battery storage system technologies block for BESS performance and economic analysis.
such as Lead-acid and Lithium-ion are designed to perform
deep discharge regularly which make them suitable for power
system application [6]. Load shaving and shifting is the
process to shave down the peak demand charges by
discharging battery from BESS during peak hours leading to
lower electricity cost and postpone grid component
investment [7-9]. In recent development of BESS control
algorithms were found using comparison of Solar irradiance
and load demand where BESS will be charged if grid usage is
lower or equal to solar energy production and vice versa [10-
Fig.1. Overview diagram of PV-BESS System

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2020 IEEE Student Conference on Research and Development (SCOReD)
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In Fig.2 below showing three subgroups are combined The Charge Discharge Controller determines the
under the masked system of BESS including BESS Charge charging-discharging operation of the BESS. The Charge
Discharge controller, Power Conversion System, and Battery Discharge Conditions are energy in kW deducted with
Storage Unit. auxiliary power in BESS. The charging condition is defined
in (2) that it is enabled consistently during off-peak hours in
the morning to charge the battery storage unit using grid
power, or receive positive result from the calculation due to
surplus PV energy is available after deducted by load
consumption during peak hours, the power conversion
system will begin to operate to charge the battery storage unit
using solely only surplus PV energy. But, if surplus PV
energy is not available during peak hours and the result
received is negative, the charging condition will be disabled.
‫ ݈ܾ݁ܽ݊ܧ݁݃ݎ݄ܽܥ‬ൌ Ͳǣ ݂݅ሺܸܲܲ െ ܲ‫  ݀ܽ݋ܮ‬ሻ  ൏ Ͳǡ Ƭሺܲ݁ܽ݇ܶ݅݉݁ሻ
Fig.2. Inner subsystems of BESS group block.
ͳǣ ݂݅ሺܸܲܲ െ ܲ‫  ݀ܽ݋ܮ‬ሻ  ൒ Ͳ,Ƭሺܲ݁ܽ݇ܶ݅݉݁ሻ

A. Formation of the Objective Function Ͳǣ ݂݅ሺ‫݁݉݅ܶ݇ܽ݁ܲ݃݊݅ݎݑܦ‬ሻ

The Energy Cost which defines the objective function that
ͳǣ ݂݅ሺ‫݂݂ܱ݁݉݅ܶ݇ܽ݁ܲ݃݊݅ݎݑܦ‬ሻ (2)
total cost saving from BESS implementation only is equal to
the summation of peak & off-peak energy cost with BESS
deducted by the summation of peak & off-peak energy cost Similarly, in the opposite operation, the Discharging
without BESS as shown in the recited objective function (1). Condition is defined in (3) that it is enabled consistently
during peak hours or when the result computed is negative
after load consumption is deducted with PV energy indicating
ܱܾ݆݁ܿ‫ ݊݋݅ݐܿ݊ݑܨ݁ݒ݅ݐ‬ൌ ‫ݐݏ݋ܥݕ݃ݎ݁݊ܧ‬
that there is no surplus PV energy available, the resultant
ൌ ൣ‫ ݇ܽ݁ܲݕ݃ݎ݁݊ܧ‬ǡ‫ ܵܵܧܤ ݐݑ݋݄ ݐ݅ݓ‬Ǥ ܶܽ‫݂݂݇ܽ݁ܲ݅ݎ‬ power will be deducted to discharge energy from the battery
൅ ‫ ݇ܽ݁ܲ ݂݂ܱݕ݃ݎ݁݊ܧ‬ǡ‫ ܵܵܧܤ ݐݑ݋݄ ݐ݅ݓ‬Ǥ ܶܽ‫ ݇ܽ݁ܲ ݂݂ܱ݂݂݅ݎ‬൧ storage unit to the load through power conversion system.
However, If the computed deduction result is positive, the
െ ൣ‫ ݇ܽ݁ܲݕ݃ݎ݁݊ܧ‬ǡ‫ ܵܵܧܤ݄ ݐ݅ݓ‬Ǥ ܶܽ‫݂݂݇ܽ݁ܲ݅ݎ‬ discharge condition will be disabled. The addition block is to
൅ ‫ ݇ܽ݁ܲ ݂݂ܱݕ݃ݎ݁݊ܧ‬ǡ‫ ܵܵܧܤ݄ ݐ݅ݓ‬Ǥ ܶܽ‫ ݇ܽ݁ܲ ݂݂ܱ݂݂݅ݎ‬൧ (1) merge all the charge and discharge condition outputs to a
single output to the power conversion system.
The off-peak energy cost with and without BESS are
‫ ݈ܾ݁ܽ݊ܧ݁݃ݎ݄ܽܿݏ݅ܦ‬ൌ ͳǣ ݂݅ሺܸܲܲ െ ܲ‫  ݀ܽ݋ܮ‬ሻ  ൏ Ͳǡ Ƭሺܲ݁ܽ݇ܶ݅݉݁ሻ
formulated by multiplying energy used with and without the
application of BESS during off-peak hour with the off-peak Ͳǣ ݂݅ሺܸܲܲ െ ܲ‫  ݀ܽ݋ܮ‬ሻ  ൒ Ͳ,Ƭሺܲ݁ܽ݇ܶ݅݉݁ሻ
tariff respectively. Similarly, the peak energy cost with and
without BESS are formulated by multiplying energy used ͳǣ ݂݅ሺ‫݁݉݅ܶ݇ܽ݁ܲ݃݊݅ݎݑܦ‬ሻ
with and without the application of BESS during peak hour
with peak tariff respectively. Ͳǣ ݂݅ሺ‫݂݂ܱ݁݉݅ܶ݇ܽ݁ܲ݃݊݅ݎݑܦ‬ሻ (3)

B. BESS Charge Discharge Controller C. Power Conversion System (PCS)

The peak-off-peak time schedule controller is to allow the The power conversion system in [11] is adopted and is
user to define the desired time period to charge and discharge placed between the BESS Charge Discharge controller,
the battery in the unit of minute which is 1440 minutes per campus load, PV farm, battery, and the power grid. It directs
day. Peak time is from 7:00 am to 9:00 pm which is from 420 the output of BESS Charge Discharge controller in kW to
minutes until 1260 minutes, and time otherwise is off-peak charge the battery storage unit from the grid or surplus PV
hours. In this paper, the major focus is to present the energy and discharge from the battery and supply to the load.
charging-discharging control function of the BESS Charge The saturation block at the input of the power conversion
Discharge controller in Fig.3. system is to limit the maximum discharge power that can be
managed by BESS. This power conversion block also
considers the power conversion efficiency and its auxiliary
power but depending on the BESS capacity. In this BESS
with the capacity of 700kWh/540kW, the efficiency is set at
98% of its input, and auxiliary power that supplies to loads
such as air conditioning, lightning etc. which is set at about
0.5% of the BESS rated power.

D. Battery Storage Unit

The battery receives input from PCS in kW at hourly
manner. A positive input indicates charging operation, and
Fig3. Charge Discharge Controller
negative input indicates discharging operation. This block

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2020 IEEE Student Conference on Research and Development (SCOReD)
27-28 September 2020, Johor, Malaysia

also allows the user to input the initial battery SoC [11]. BESS Simulation Parameters
While in common practice, the battery will be charged at 30% Parameters Values
of initial SoC before commissioning. However, initial battery Initial Battery SoC 30%
SoC is not considered as in this paper, the maximum and
minimum battery SoC are limited set at 95% and 20%. Maximum Battery SoC 20%
Minimum Battery SoC 95%
E. Power Grids Power Conversion Efficiency 98%
Power Grid blocks is to store grid usage result in the
System Auxiliary Power 0.5%
Matlab workspace for result plotting and analysis.
7:00 am to 9:00 pm
Peak Hour
(420min to 1260min)
F. Costs & Savings Calculation
Off-Peak Hour Other than Peak Hour
To calculate energy cost, peak hour tariff and the off-peak
tariff will be used. The total energy cost is calculated by the Peak Tariff 10.745 c/kWh
summation of total off-peak energy multiplied by off-peak Off-Peak Tariff 6.597 c/kWh
tariff and total peak energy multiplied by peak tariff as in
equation (4).

Energy Cost = B. Operational Performance Analysis

Case 1: Clear Sky Day
(Off-Peak Energy × Off-Peak Tariff)
Clear Sky Day is when the weather condition provides
+ (Peak Energy × Peak Tariff) (4) optimum sunlight and thus optimum Solar PV energy
production nearly without cloud coverage. As shown in Fig.4,
the load demand is shifted to the off-peak hours in the
After all the costs are computed using functions in code morning to charge the BESS from the 20% lower limit of the
equation (4), the Savings Calculation consists of 3 functions battery, then it stopped charging when it reaches 95% upper
including Energy Cost with PV System only, Energy Cost limit of Battery SoC and discharge to supply to the load and
with PV & BESS system, and Total Saving from BESS Only lowers the load demand until 20% lower limit of the battery
are computed as code in equation (5). SoC. When the time reaches afternoon where surplus Solar
PV energy is available, the BESS starts charging until the end
Saving from BESS = of Surplus Solar PV energy production. Then, stored surplus
Solar PV energy is discharged to the load. On top of the stored
(Energy Cost Without BESS) – (Energy Cost With BESS) (5) energy in BESS, Solar PV energy produced is also supplied
to the load demand throughout the day.
III. RESULTS
The investigation results are the operational performance
and economic analysis of the BESS Charge Discharge
Control Strategy of 700kWh/540kW BESS including Clear
Sky Day, Overcast Day, High Variability Day, and weekly
result with variable weather conditions and variable campus
load demand.
In the graphical result shown below, red color represents
load demand before Solar PV & BESS application; green
color represents load demand after Solar PV application; blue
color represents load demand after Solar PV & BESS
Fig.4. Load Shifting using BESS Charge Discharge Control Strategy in
application; and orange color represents the Battery State of Clear Sky Day.
Charge (SoC).
Case 2: Overcast Day
A. Simulation Parameters
Define abbreviations and acronyms the first time they are Overcast Day is when the weather condition is interfered
used in the text, even after they have been defined in the by very serious cloud coverage and only able to provide
abstract. Abbreviations such as IEEE, SI, MKS, CGS, sc, dc, minimal sunlight and produce minimal Solar PV energy. As
and rms do not have to be defined. Do not use abbreviations shown in Fig.5, the BESS will be charged to its 95% upper
in the title or heads unless they are unavoidable. limit of Battery SoC in the morning off-peak hours. Then the
stored energy will be discharged to the load during peak
TABLE I. BESS SIMULATION PARAMETERS. hours. Due to no Surplus Solar PV energy available, the
battery will not be charged in the afternoon. On top of the
BESS Simulation Parameters
stored energy in BESS, Solar PV energy produced is also
Parameters Values
supplied to the load demand throughout the day.
Battery Capacity and output 700kWh/540kW

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2020 IEEE Student Conference on Research and Development (SCOReD)
27-28 September 2020, Johor, Malaysia

energy in BESS, Solar PV energy produced is also supplied

to the load demand throughout the day.

Fig.5. Load Shifting using BESS Charge Discharge Control Strategy in

Overcast Day.
Fig.7. Load Shifting using BESS Charge Discharge Control Strategy with
Case 3: High Variability Day Weekly Weather Conditions and Variable Load Demand.

High Variability Day is when the weather condition is C. Economic Analysis

interfered by serious cloud coverage and able to provide As the initial investment cost of BESS is high and it is a
inconsistent sunlight and inconsistent Solar PV energy. As significant resistance for consumers to adopt this technology.
shown in Fig.6, the BESS is charged to 95% upper limit of Hence, to analyze the economic benefits of applying the
the Battery SoC in the morning off-peak hours, then developed BESS Charge Discharge Control Strategy, the
discharged to the load demand during peak hours. amount of money in Dollar ($) saved from the using the
However, during the peak hours in the afternoon, there is BESS in each case is presented below and is summarized in
a certain time when the Surplus Solar PV energy is available Table 2.
inconsistently. By using the BESS Charge Discharge Control
Strategy, the inconsistent production of Surplus Solar PV TABLE II. SUMMARY OF ECONOMIC ANALYSIS
energy can be captured and to charge the BESS and discharge Summary of Economic Analysis
back to the load when Surplus Solar PV energy is unavailable Case
Energy Costs Values
during peak hours. With this approach can utilize every little Energy Cost with Solar
bit of Surplus Solar PV energy produced. On top of the stored 1 $2197.08
PV, $
energy in BESS, Solar PV energy produced is also supplied
Energy Cost with BESS, $ $2143.67
to the load demand throughout the day.
Energy Cost Saved from
$53.41
BESS, $
Energy Cost with Solar
2 $3412.88
PV, $
Energy Cost with BESS, $ $3398.63
Energy Cost Saved from
$14.25
BESS, $
Energy Cost with Solar
3 $1979.29
PV, $
Energy Cost with BESS, $ $1898.17
Energy Cost Saved from
$81.12
BESS, $
Fig.6. Load Shifting using BESS Charge Discharge Control Strategy in Energy Cost with Solar
4 $17249.08
High Variability Day. PV, $
Energy Cost with BESS, $ $16927.26
Case 4: Weekly Weather Condition & Load Demand
Energy Cost Saved from
$321.82
As different weather conditions produce different Solar BESS, $
PV energy production. One-week weather conditions and
load demand are applied to verify the performance of the For Case 1, the load demand of the day is 38891.27kWh.
developed BESS Charge Discharge Control Strategy for After the Solar PV plant is applied, load demand is reduced
various load demands at weekly basis. As shown in Fig.7, the to 26086.40kWh with the energy cost of $2197.08. after the
BESS will be charged to 95% upper limit of Battery SoC BESS is applied, the load demand is further reduced to
during morning off-peak hours every day consistently and 25804.77kWh with the energy cost of $2143.67. thus, by
only discharge during the peak hours. Then, only if Surplus applying equation (5), the Energy Cost saved from BESS by
Solar PV energy is available in the afternoon peak hours the applying the developed BESS Charge Discharge Control
BESS will be charged and will be discharged when Surplus Strategy is $53.41. Then, in Case 2 the load demand of the
Solar PV energy is unavailable. Then, on top of the stored day is 44625.53kWh. After the Solar PV plant is applied, load
demand is reduced to 37937.43kWh with the energy cost of

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2020 IEEE Student Conference on Research and Development (SCOReD)
27-28 September 2020, Johor, Malaysia

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ACKNOWLEDGMENT Energy Storage System Model in MATLAB/Simulink. IJSGCE.

The author of this paper would like to acknowledge the

financial support from UCSI University including resource
facility where publication of this paper is made possible.

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