Simultaneous load leveling and voltage profile improvement in distribution networks by optimal battery storage planning

Abstract Battery Energy Storage Systems can provide various applications in the distribution networks including load leveling, expansion deferral, voltage profile improvement, frequency regulation, fast reserve, and renewable energy time shift. Despite offering various applications, the BESSs are characterized with high investment costs. An optimal investment plan can justify the cots by exploiting multiple simultaneous applications. To this end, this paper proposes a novel planning model for the BESSs in distribution network wherein both load leveling and voltage profile improvement applications are extracted. The load leveling application refers to storing cheap energy at off-peak periods to deliver at peak period with high energy costs. In this way, the load profile tends to be flat and resulting lower energy cost. The voltage profile improvement is achieved by the optimal reactive power control of the inverter located between the BESS and the grid. The idea is that the inverter can allocate rated power capacity to the reactive power exchange at periods with negligible or zero active power conversion. Simulation results demonstrate that the voltage profile can improve in some degrees without increasing planning and/or operation costs. Higher degrees of improvement can be achieved at the expanse of cost increase. Also, the simulations show that the conducted load leveling results to loss reduction, peak shaving, and network expansion deferral subsequently.