Ebook: How to size your
solar battery energy
storage system (BESS)
Battery energy storage systems
The price of lithium-ion batteries fell by 97%
(BESSs) are key to integrating
The price of lithium-ion batteries per kWh (logarithmic axis)
large amounts of solar and wind
10000$
generation into power grids.
7,523$
They can store excess output,
(in 1991)
supply power during peak periods, 5000$
and connect isolated or
2000$
off-grid communities.
1000$
More utility-scale solar projects
500$ 181$
around the world will need to be
(in 2018)
hybrid projects that pair photovoltaic
systems with batteries. And an 200$
increase in manufacturing capacity 100$
has brought down the cost of lithium- 1991 2000 2010 2018
ion BESSs in the past 10 years,
making widespread rollout viable.
Source: Our world in data
When designing a BESS, the most challenging engineering work is in establishing the appropriate size for the
system and determining whether it will generate a positive return on investment.
RatedPower’s software now includes functionality to automate and speed up the
feasibility study process for identifying viable utility-scale PV projects with BESS.
This guide looks at the process of sizing
up batteries for a PV plant looking at
three specific criteria in detail:
Services provided
Profitability
Tender recommendations
or requirements
How does a battery storage
system work?
The batteries used in energy storage are
How does a battery storage
electrochemical devices that charge from a
power plant or grid and then discharge
system work?
energy to supply electricity or other grid
services as needed.
Hybrid solar and storage systems charge during
the day when the sun shines and supply electricity
when the sun is not shining. Modern BESSs
typically include an inverter to convert the DC
current solar panels generate into the AC current
that powers equipment and appliances.
Energy storage systems incorporate
software that uses algorithms to coordinate
electricity generation and control systems that
determine when to discharge the battery.
How does a battery storage system work?
Type of solar battery systems
The first choice to be made in designing a solar storage plant is the basic architecture,
including how the battery will be integrated into the PV system.
There are two main types of architecture: alternating current (AC) and direct current (DC).
Alternating current (AC) Direct current (DC)
AC current flows rapidly on electricity grids in both directions, while DC currents flow in just one direction.
As solar panels generate DC current and batteries store DC but appliances use AC current, the current must
be converted using inverters.
How does a battery storage system work?
AC-coupled systems are the preferred
options for larger and utility-scale plants.
That’s because AC-coupled systems are more
flexible (working with any type of inverter),
resilient (as multiple inverters can be built in), and
versatile (AC-coupled systems enable batteries
to charge from the grid as well as the solar panels
and the grid).
For a more in-depth analysis of the pros and cons
of AC-coupled vs DC-coupled BESS systems, see
our dedicated guide here.
How does a battery storage system work?
What to consider when
sizing BESS
A number of factors need to be considered when sizing a BESS: the application, the economic
profitability of the BESS, the market scenario, energy transition policies, and more.
In this guide, we’ll look at three of the most critical considerations:
Services provided: are you looking to maximize the energy output, for example?
The economic profitability: are you looking for the most cost-efficient solution?
… and the tender recommendations or requirements: are you bound by certain stipulations
that are outside of your control?
What to consider when sizing BESS
Sizing a BESS based on
services provided
One of the main case uses for BESS are dispatch
strategies concerning energy flows. Predictive dispatch
strategies aim to optimize load flows looking to consider
future load scenarios and how that will impact the overall
life-cycle and size of the BESS.
Peak shifting is used in this specific case —
a process that involves proactively managing
overall demand to eliminate short-term
demand spikes, which set a higher peak.
This process lowers and smooths out peak loads,
which reduces the overall cost of demand charges.
What to consider when sizing BESS
In the graph, the light blue areas indicate
periods of battery charging: first, in the
consumption valley, and second, when solar
generation exceeds demand. The dark blue
Supply
area indicates the battery discharge period;
when the previously stored electrical energy
is used to cover higher peak demand.
In this example, the utilization of
renewable solar energy produced is am Time pm
maximized. In turn, the cost of supply from
Source: Figure 1. Peak shifting applied to solar generation and typical demand profile
the grid is minimized, since we store energy [Source: SaltX Technology. (2016). “Peak Shifting Graph,”]
when the price is low and use it when it
is high.
What to consider when sizing BESS
How to size a BESS with peak shifting and shaving
When sizing a BESS based on peak shaving, you should overlay a graph of the grid consumption and a
graph of the plant production during a specific period of time. This way it is possible to locate peak
demands across the duration.
This sizing calculation requires the maximum load value to be defined — this will be based on the production
information of the plant and consumption of the network, from which the plant stops injecting directly into the
network. This power, obtained from the difference between the maximum load limit and the surplus production
of the plant, will be the power injected into the battery system:
Pcarga = PPV - CargaMáx
What to consider when sizing BESS
Where:
Pcarga is the power that will be charged to the battery [MW]
Ppv is the power generated by the PV plant [MW]
Carga max is the maximum load value defined by the user [MW]. Above this value,
the exceeding power produced by the plant will be injected into the BESS.
If you overlap the hourly production profile of the plant with the hourly consumption profile of the network,
there will be periods in which the plant is producing above the consumption of the network — and
that excess power is lost because you cannot inject, you unbalance the network.
There will be other times when the plant is not producing or produces less than the consumption of the
network at that time (for example, at night). This is where the battery plays an important role because it can be
charged at times of excess production and discharged when the consumption of the network is higher. This
way you avoid production losses and give constant support to the network.
What to consider when sizing BESS
Other strategies might be considered based
on BESS capabilities for providing ancillary
services. As an example, for primary frequency
regulation to the grid (PFR), lithium-ion batteries
can be used because of their fast response,
as faster discharge cycles are needed to reset the
frequency to its operating value.
Because of this, to be able to quickly discharge
the battery and subsequently return it to its
previous state of charge (SOC), a different
dispatch strategy might be considered.
Alternative dispatch strategies will have an
impact both on the battery lifetime and
economic feasibility analysis.
What to consider when sizing BESS
Sizing a BESS based on economic profitability
Profitability is an important factor not only for BESS sizing, but for any application when developing any project,
including the PV plant sizing. After all, we could apply the first criterion, based on the maximum peak demand
that we would like our system to cover, but it might not be economically feasible. If this is the case, a detailed
financial analysis is carried out to decide if the system is economically profitable. Returning to the
example above, if a 10 MW and 2 hours of supply duration is not economically feasible, we would reduce the
battery size (down to 5 MW, e.g.) until we see profitability.
Essentially, the costs of the battery should be calculated by taking into account:
The initial, upfront investment
The replacement costs at the end of the battery’s lifetime
Estimated energy prices, in hours or days.
What to consider when sizing BESS
This way, you can work out how economically viable it is to have the biggest battery you can get
versus a smaller battery that allows you to save up excess energy and sell it afterward at peak
price times.
In this instance, you want to ensure that the money you’d make from selling the excess energy saved is
worth the cost of the battery.
What to consider when sizing BESS
Sizing a BESS based on tender recommendations
or requirements
Including a BESS in your PV plant design can help make tender bids more successful; the more sustainable you
can make the design and the better the integration of renewable energies into the grid, the higher your score will
be (depending on the country).
In Spain, for example, a BESS that’s sized at 5% of the total power installed in the PV plant
would be looked upon very favorably and receive high scores. To follow that logic when
sizing the BESS, if developing a 20 MW project, a 1 MW BESS would give us the maximum
rate regarding storage.
If sizing BESS in relation to tender recommendations or requirements, then the size of the battery would
depend entirely on the country and the necessities outlined in the tender itself.
What to consider when sizing BESS
5%
In Spain, for example, a BESS that’s sized at 5% of the total
power installed in the PV plant would be looked upon very
favorably and receive high scores.
How to size up a BESS
Rated Power’s pvDesign software allows you to design an AC-coupled BESS. When choosing the location
for storage, analyzing the costs and benefits of different locations will help you identify the optimal
placement to meet the needs of the system. By defining the parameters of the system, you can easily
generate a basic engineering report. Here are the factors you need to define.
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How to size up a BESS
1. Determining the
space required
It’s important to start with a battery area
for a hybrid solar storage system. The size
of the user-defined area will determine the
space available to install the storage system.
The MV point will be the interconnection point
between the battery area and the substation.
2. Minimum BESS unit
The minimum unit for the BESS is defined
by the inverter type and the number of
inverters. For example, if an inverter has a
power of 1000kVA, and there are two
How to size up a BESS
inverters in the Power Conversion System
(PCS), the power of the PCS is 2000kW.
For the battery container, pvDesign assumes
the storage system is modular. You can
specify the capacity of a battery container or
set the capacity of a single battery rack and
the number of racks to include per container.
pvDesign will then install the appropriate
number of containers based on the
system requirements.
How to size up a BESS
3. Power and capacity
requirements
Once the PCS and container capacity are
determined, you need to define the power
requirements. In pvDesign you can
establish both the power requirements
and the supply hours of the BESS.
In the BESS requirements section, you can
choose between maximum capacity or
specific capacity. The maximum capacity
option will install the maximum possible power
in the area defined for the battery system.
How to size up a BESS
You can then determine the battery’s
supply duration. The duration of the supply
cycle is calculated by dividing the capacity in
MWh by the rated power in MW.
For example, with a 2000kW PCS and a
3000kWh container, the length of time it will
take for the battery to complete a full charge
or discharge cycle will be 1.5 hours. If you
connected two 3000kWh battery containers
to the same PCS, the system would have a
three-hour supply time.
How to size up a BESS
4. BESS dimensions
In the BESS layout section, you can define the
dimensions of both PCS and containers to
maximize the use of the space. You can also
determine the distance between adjacent and
opposing blocks, taking into account the safe
distances between the containers and the PCS.
With these simple settings, pvDesign makes it easy
to design the size and layout of a utility-scale BESS.
The results screen shows the system’s installed
capacity, power and supply duration and the
software allows you to generate the BESS layout
and a system design report as documentation, with
references in the PV plant documentation.
How to size up a BESS
pvDesign
Rated Power’s cloud-based software is designed to
optimize the study, analysis, design and engineering of
your utility-scale solar PV project by using digital
technologies and heuristic calculations.
How pvDesign works
You can speed up the design and engineering
process to increase efficiency, improve accuracy,
and cut construction costs to maximize a project’s
profitability.
If you are planning to incorporate energy
storage into your PV plant, the software
automates the process of designing the layout
of the BESS. It takes into account the battery’s
hours of operation, calculates the length of the
cables, calculates the earthworks required, and sizes
the interconnection facility. The software then
generates the basic engineering documentation.
How to size up a BESS
Some of the key features of pvDesign’s AC-coupled BESS module include:
Automatic layout generation taking into account battery supply duration and container dimensions.
Options to maximize the capacity in an installation or define specific capacity requirements.
Automatic bill of material generation simplifies capital expenditure (CAPEX) calculations.
Calculations of the available solar power that could be used to charge the battery.
Automatic documentation generation — BESS design report, layout, and bill of material — saving time.
Integration functionality automatically takes the BESS system into account hen designing the
w
interconnection facility.
How to size up a BESS
pvDesign rapidly generates the best
layout for your hybrid project by scanning
millions of iterations.
Compare different options from the
results and adjust your configuration
to attain the optimal design for
any site.
In the following section, we look at a case
study of how pvDesign’s BESS module
optimizes a hybrid solar storage project.
How to size up a BESS
pvDesign case study
In our case study, an AC-coupled battery
energy storage system will be included in
a 142.60 MWac plant in Atacama desert
(Chile), with a maximum DC installed
capacity of 168.06 MW. The battery
system size will be defined based on an
estimation on the load demand.
As no specific load demand information
is available, the size of the system will be
20% of the AC capacity of the PV
plant, trying to cover the peaks of
demand that usually occur on the grid.
How to size up a BESS
This 20% estimation is based on battery
energy storage systems requirements in
the U.S. market.
To implement the hybrid system in
pvDesign, the first step the user has to
follow is to define a battery polygon (BA)
and an MV placemark within that polygon
in the site.
The size of the user-defined area will
determine the space available to install
the storage system. The MV point will be
the interconnection point between the
battery area and the substation.
How to size up a BESS
Once the battery area is defined for the storage system, the "BESS" tab will be enabled in the design
process. This is where we will design the system.
First, within this tab, the electrical parameters of the minimum unit are defined. The minimum unit or block of
the BESS is the set of a PCS and the containers connected to it.
For this case study, a battery energy storage system
of 28.5 MW will be designed, considering about the 20%
of the AC capacity of the PV plan (142.60 MW).
Next step is to establish the power of the Power
Conversion System (PCS) by selecting a bidirectional
inverter and a number of inverters per PCS. From the
inverter’s public database, the inverter selected is the
SG1500HV Sungrow, a bidirectional inverter with a
Pmax value of 1.5 MW.
How to size up a BESS
As a result, one inverter per PCS is defined, meaning that the total number of PCS will be 19 to reach the
28.5 MW BESS power).
Once the PCS is defined, the capacity of the battery containers is established. To be able to work with a 4
hours of supply duration system, and two containers per PCS, a container capacity of 3000 MWh
is defined.
If the racks option was selected, by defining
the number of racks per container and the
capacity of one rack, the maximum
capacity of each container can be
determined.
How to size up a BESS
By displaying the BESS requirements menu, it
is possible to define both the desired specific
power for the battery bank and the number of
hours of supply.
19 PCS are necessary to reach the specific
power mentioned above, 28.5 MW. Regarding
the hours of supply cycle duration (charge and
discharge), by defining 4, two containers will
be placed per PCS, and the capacity of the
battery system will be 114 MWh.
How to size up a BESS
In the top bar, the rated power, capacity and hours of supply duration of the battery energy storage
system will be represented during the design process.
A BESS layout and a system design report are generated as documentation when the design is
generated.. The rest of the PV plant documents (SLDs, reports) will include references to the BESS system.
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How to size up a BESS
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