Probabilistic sizing of battery energy storage system in presence of renewable generation

This paper deals with the probabilistic design of an end-user microgrid equipped with renewable energy generation and battery energy storage systems. The microgrid is connected to the distribution grid and is able to purchase energy under time of use tariff and to sell energy paid through feed-in tariff. The use of the battery is devoted at (i) increasing the self-consumption and (ii) reducing the cost for energy absorbed by shifting the load demand in the hours of lower energy price. An analytical tool is derived for the optimal sizing of battery energy storage systems accounting for minimization of the total costs incurred by the microgrid owner. The closed form expressions are included within a Monte Carlo simulation so considering uncertainties in load demand and renewable power generation. Though the proposed approach is quite general and can be easily extended to different case studies, the formulation and the results reported in this paper refer to the case of an industrial customer whose demand partially complies with the production of a photovoltaic system.