Techno-economic evaluation of battery energy storage systems on the primary control reserve market under consideration of price trends and bidding strategies

Abstract With declining prices on the German primary control reserve (PCR) market and simultaneously decreasing battery cell and system prices, it is unclear whether an investment in a battery energy storage system (BESS) providing PCR will be profitable. In order to address this issue, we outline different bidding strategies for PCR auctions and analyze their impact on revenues and battery aging. Furthermore, following a net present value (NPV) approach, we investigate how the development of PCR prices and battery system prices affects the attractiveness of BESS providing PCR. The results show that the bidding strategies developed in this paper allow for reasonable revenues from PCR provision. A higher willingness of the bidder to take risks is not rewarded with higher revenues in the scenario presented in this paper. Furthermore, the impact of the choice of the bidding strategy on battery aging seems negligible. However, the development of PCR market prices and battery system prices is crucial for the attractiveness of BESS providing PCR. Investments come with a high risk due to the volatility of PCR market prices and the uncertainty of future battery system prices. A strong drop in PCR prices would make investments unattractive, even in the case of an optimistic estimate of the BESS price development. However, if PCR prices decrease moderately, an investment in a BESS providing PCR lead to a positive NPV over the system lifetime under the assumptions made in this study.