Strategic Energy Storage Allocation in Buildings with Rooftop PVs: A Singapore Case Study

The environmental concerns and increase in the subsidies for the use of renewable energy sources have motivated their huge penetration in the power grid. However, the intermittency in renewable energy sources such as solar and wind power strains the power grid as it brings in problems such as frequent ramping of existing conventional generation sources. In such scenarios, fast responding devices such as energy storage systems are proposed to offset the intermittency exhibited by renewable energy and alleviate network congestion. Additionally, energy storage systems can also be used for various applications such as voltage control, frequency regulation, and stability enhancement. In this work, optimization of the energy storage sizing with rooftop solar in buildings is performed from an economic perspective. The cost-benefit analysis of using energy storage systems with rooftop solar is demonstrated using case studies of residential and commercial buildings in Singapore. Results from the extensive case studies conducted based on real-time data demonstrate that energy storage with rooftop solar in buildings may become the most cost-effective option when the current battery pricing is able to meet the critical battery pricing.