Mitigation of the Variability of a PV Fleet via Geographical Dispersion and Energy Storage Systems on the Reunion Island Non-Interconnected Grid

Abstract

In this paper, the geographical dispersion of PV installations and Energy Storage System (ESS) are studied to smooth PV production on Reunion Island. Despite the small area of the Island, the results show that with dispersion at the total grid scale, the variability driven by weather conditions (unpredictable variability) is almost removed. Then a centralized EES management at grid scale and a few large EES units could mitigate the variability even further with a relative low cost.

Firm Photovoltaic Power Generation: Overview and Economic Outlook

“…The firm power study for the Reunion Island's power grid [ 23 ] focused on PV‐only and considered multiple firm load targets ranging from “entry level” firm forecasts, to ultrahigh penetration, meeting 100% of the island's demand 24/365 (intermediate targets included meeting the loads of the commercial sector, or displacing diesel power generation). Figure reports the LCOE of firm power PV for each scenario as a function of penetration and total investment CapEx.…”

Optimizing operational costs and PV production at utility scale: An optical fiber network analogy for solar park clustering

“…The revisited approach proposed here gathers several power facilities around a common substation to allow for the total cost to be further mitigated. This is especially expected when the maximum power per RE park is constrained by the power grid technical features [28], and thus only small-scale facilities are considered [23]. As we develop below, the smaller-scale strategy has in fact many benefits: it substantially improves both grid operation and risk management once solar PV parks are operating.…”

“…The use of smaller facilities therefore gives more flexibility when handling the energy supplied from intermittent sources, and eventually ensures safer grid operation once solar PV parks have been commissioned. Targeting smaller solar PV parks is even more relevant in small not interconnected electricity networks, whose low inertia actually implies higher impact from intermittent RE sources on frequency variability and grid stability [28]. By considering smaller PV parks, the risk can still be handled once facilities are operating: whether the riskier solution is chosen or not, the grid manager remains capable of eventually switching off a plant without jeopardizing the whole network.…”

“…From the point of view of an investor deploying multiple parks, it is actually more interesting to invest in various small-scale facilities rather than in few bigger ones. Since the grid manager will be more concerned by the technical risks than the economical ones, he can shut down any solar PV park in case too much intermittent power is injected into the network [28]. This technical liability might not be related to technical constraints, as it is the case of EDF in French Guiana [29] who can disconnect plants in the chronological order of their connection to the grid [27].…”