Experimental assessment of ESS integration in a microgrid supplied by photovoltaic

In this paper the results of ten months monitoring of the microgrid supplied by the photovoltaic generator and operating in the Mediterranean area have been presented. The microgrid architecture and control strategy have been described. Further, the analysis of the energy exchange between the microgrid and the main grid have been analyzed. A particular attention has been given to the optimization of the renewable energy management as to power the microgrid loads and consequently, to increase the photovoltaic energy self - consumption rate. This was possible thanks to implementation of the energy storage system, coupled with the photovoltaic generator. The obtained results demonstrate the technical feasibility of the microgrid, pointing out how the introduction of the storage improves the photovoltaic energy management. Moreover, it has been shown how the microgrid improves the integration of the photovoltaic system with the main grid. The economic evaluation of the costs incurred for the development and maintenance of the microgrid has been carried out. The analysis has been reported also in terms of levelized cost of energy. The results show that the cost effectiveness of the microgrid is increasing with the system operation life time.