1,720,977 research outputs found
Battery energy storage system for primary control reserve and energy arbitrage
No full textThe transition to high penetration of renewable energy sources brings about problems related to the security and reliability of the electric power system. For this reason, EU countries are considering extending participation in the provision of ancillary services to distributed generators. Grid-connected Battery Energy Storage Systems (BESS) are a promising technology for enabling this transition. Besides the research efforts to regulate and integrate BESS into the existing power systems, several studies have introduced improvements in BESS control for ancillary services provision. In this paper, attention is focused on primary control reserve (PCR). An introduction to the suitability of using BESS for PCR is followed by a literature review on BESS control strategies and controller models. Then the paper presents a model to investigate methods to increase BESS potential in providing PCR. The model is based on two different operating options: (i) variable-droop, meaning the droop-control is allowed to vary in time in order to avoid state of charge saturations and guarantee PCR availability; (ii) energy arbitrage, meaning that the battery is charged and discharged when economically favourable. A 1MW/1MWh BESS was simulated in MATLAB® Simulink® by implementing the two operating options via two fuzzy logic controllers that determine the droop and the arbitrage set points. The simulations rely on real metred data inputs (i.e. frequency and electricity prices) and demonstrate that both options improve BESS operations. Specifically, a study on the Italian case was applied to evaluate the feasibility of these applications in a real life scenario
A sizing methodology based on Levelized Cost of Supplied and Lost Energy for off-grid rural electrification systems
Full text linkA Methodology To Develop Design Support Tools For Stand-Alone Photovoltaic Systems In Developing Countries
No full textEffect of load profile uncertainty on the optimum sizing of off-grid PV systems for rural electrification
Full text linkOff-grid systems based on PV and batteries are becoming a solution of great interest for rural electrification. Nevertheless, sizing these systems is not straightforward since it means matching unpredictable energy sources with uncertain demands while providing the best reliability and costs. In our opinion, the effect of users’ energy consumptions uncertainty on the sizing of these systems has not been appropriately investigated. This paper addresses this issue and analyzes the effect of load profile uncertainty on the off-grid PV systems optimum design. Specifically a novel sizing methodology has been introduced based on: (i) an effective approach of modelling rural energy needs; (ii) an innovative stochastic method which formulates different possible realistic daily load profiles for un-electrified rural areas; (iii) a PV-battery techno-economic analysis via steady-state simulation; (iv) the evaluation of the optimum system sizing via a numerical method based on net present cost and loss of load probability. Finally, the proposed methodology has been applied to find the optimum size of an off-grid PV system for a peri-urban area of Uganda. The results show that the optimum system configurations are significantly affected by load profiles; consequently an approach to identify the robust solution with regards the assumed uncertainty is proposed
A novel software package for the robust design of off-grid power systems
No full textOff-grid power systems represent one of the key solutions for rural electrification. Most of the analyses or tools already present in literature do not consider the final users' energy needs as the starting point of the process nor they consider the inherent uncertainties about loads and resources. Comprehensive stochastic procedures that look at the atypical features of rural contexts and include estimation errors into the design phase are strongly required. In this paper, we present Poli. NRG (POLItecnico di Milano - Network Robust desiGn): a novel software package for the robust design of off-grid electric power systems. Poli. NRG is composed of four blocks which separately face the different design phases: (i) the data inputs gathering block provides a methodology to collect field data as regards weather condition and load demand; (ii) the inputs processing block elaborates the inputs to obtain load and sources profiles over the entire lifetime of the plant; (iii) the system modelling and simulation block simulates different off-grid system configurations and evaluates the related techno-economic performances; (iv) the output formulation block finds the most robust design for the targeted context through specific optimization methods. After a comprehensive description of the software, we have applied it to size a PV + BESS microgrid system to supply power to a peri-urban area of Uganda. The results confirm that parameters' uncertainties deeply affect the design of the system and motivate the robust design approach proposed. Poli. NRG is devoted to map those uncertainties and provide information for decision makers
Distributed Storage for the Provision of Ancillary Services to the Main Grid: Project PRESTO
Full text linkAbstractThis paper presents the three-year PRESTO research project (2013-2015). PRESTO is a self-funded project developed by the Department of Energy of Politecnico di Milano in cooperation with FIAMM Storage, Elvi Energy and MCM Energy Lab (an Italian spin-off). Within the project, experimental tests and numerical simulations were performed in order to evaluate the effectiveness of an Energy Storage System (ESS) in the provision of ancillary services to the main grid. This paper focuses specifically on the experimental and numerical analyses carried out in the project to develop an innovative control law for the primary frequency regulation, able to maximize the performances of the regulating service and effectively manage the ESS state of charge
Going Beyond Counting First Authors in Author Co-citation Analysis
Full text linkThe present study examines one of the fundamental aspects of author co-citation analysis (ACA) - the way co-citation
counts are defined. Co-citation counting provides the data on which all subsequent statistical analyses and mappings
are based, and we compare ACA results based on two different types of co-citation counting - the traditional type that
only counts the first one among a cited work's authors on the one hand and a non-traditional type that takes into
account the first 5 authors of a cited work on the other hand. Results indicate that the picture produced through this non-traditional author co-citation counting contains more coherent author groups and is therefore considerably clearer. However, this picture represents fewer specialties in the research field being studied than that produced through the traditional first-author co-citation counting when the same number of top-ranked authors is selected and analyzed. Reasons for these effects are discussed
Battery modeling for microgrid design: A comparison between lithium-ion and lead acid technologies
Full text linkBattery energy storage systems are fundamental components in microgrids operations, therefore it is important to adopt models suitable to properly evaluate the performance of these electrical systems. Different methodologies for battery modeling have been developed and tested in this work: (i) Empirical model, in which batteries are described by analytic expressions not based on electrochemical processes; (ii) Equivalent electrical circuit model, in which batteries are described in terms of electrical quantities. These approaches allow to adapt the model to different battery technologies: both the emerging Li-ion and the consolidated lead acid are considered in this paper. The proposed models are implemented in the software Poli. NRG, a Matlab based procedure for microgrid sizing developed by Energy Department of Politecnico di Milano. Simulations are based on a real case study relevant to a microgrid in a rural area: Ngarenanyuki Secondary School in Tanzania. The proposed methodology is used to design a new microgrid based on photovoltaic and energy storage system, comparing the results obtained adopting different modeling approaches and different technologies. Eventually, results are critically analyzed and discussed in order to compare accuracy, computational effort, costs and opportunities
Variations on the Author
Full text link“Variations on the Author” discusses two of Eduardo Coutinho’s recent films (Um Dia na Vida, from 2010, and Últimas Conversas, posthumously released in 2015) and their contribution to the general question of documentary authorship. The director’s filmography is characterized by a consistent yet self-effacing form of authorial self-inscription: Coutinho often features as an interviewer that rather than express opinions propels discourses; an interviewer that is good at listening. This mode of self-inscription characterizes him as an author who is not expressive but who is nonetheless markedly present on the screen. In Um Dia na Vida, however, Coutinho is completely absent form the image, while Últimas Conversas, on the contrary, includes a confessional prologue that moves the director from the margins to the center of his films. This article examines the ways in which these works stand out in the filmography of a director who offers new insights into the notion of cinematic authorship
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