A Low-Voltage DC Backbone with Aggregated RES and BESS: Benefits Compared to a Traditional Low-Voltage AC System

The increasing penetration of PV into the distribution grid leads to congestion, causing detrimental power quality issues. Moreover, the multiple small photovoltaic (PV) systems and battery energy storage systems (BESSs) result in increasing conversion losses. A low-voltage DC (LVDC) backbone to int...

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Main Authors: Hakim Azaioud, Robbert Claeys, Jos Knockaert, Lieven Vandevelde, Jan Desmet
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: MDPI AG 2021-03-01
Series:Energies
Subjects:
Online Access:https://www.mdpi.com/1996-1073/14/5/1420
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spelling doaj-915f70c826a64061873c8f3cfbf68bf52021-03-05T00:07:46ZengMDPI AGEnergies1996-10732021-03-01141420142010.3390/en14051420A Low-Voltage DC Backbone with Aggregated RES and BESS: Benefits Compared to a Traditional Low-Voltage AC SystemHakim Azaioud0Robbert Claeys1Jos Knockaert2Lieven Vandevelde3Jan Desmet4EELab/Lemcko, Department of Electromechanical, Systems and Metal Engineering, Ghent University, 8500 Kortrijk, BelgiumEELab/Lemcko, Department of Electromechanical, Systems and Metal Engineering, Ghent University, 8500 Kortrijk, BelgiumEELab/Lemcko, Department of Electromechanical, Systems and Metal Engineering, Ghent University, 8500 Kortrijk, BelgiumEELab, Department of Electromechanical, Systems and Metal Engineering, Ghent University, 9052 Ghent, BelgiumEELab/Lemcko, Department of Electromechanical, Systems and Metal Engineering, Ghent University, 8500 Kortrijk, BelgiumThe increasing penetration of PV into the distribution grid leads to congestion, causing detrimental power quality issues. Moreover, the multiple small photovoltaic (PV) systems and battery energy storage systems (BESSs) result in increasing conversion losses. A low-voltage DC (LVDC) backbone to interconnect these assets would decrease the conversion losses and is a promising solution for a more optimal integration of PV systems. The multiple small PV systems can be replaced by shared assets with large common PV installations and a large BESS. Sharing renewable energy and aggregation are activities that are stimulated by the European Commission and lead to a substantial benefit in terms of self-consumption index (SCI) and self-sufficiency index (SSI). In this study, the benefit of an LVDC backbone is investigated compared to using a low-voltage AC (LVAC) system. It is found that the cable losses increase by 0.9 percent points and the conversion losses decrease by 12 percent points compared to the traditional low-voltage AC (LVAC) system. The SCI increases by 2 percent points and the SSI increases by 6 percent points compared to using an LVAC system with shared meter. It is shown that an LVDC backbone is only beneficial with a PV penetration level of 65% and that the BESS can be reduced by 22% for the same SSI.https://www.mdpi.com/1996-1073/14/5/1420LVDCself-sufficiency indexload aggregationpower convertersphotovoltaicefficiency
collection DOAJ
language English
format Article
sources DOAJ
author Hakim Azaioud
Robbert Claeys
Jos Knockaert
Lieven Vandevelde
Jan Desmet
spellingShingle Hakim Azaioud
Robbert Claeys
Jos Knockaert
Lieven Vandevelde
Jan Desmet
A Low-Voltage DC Backbone with Aggregated RES and BESS: Benefits Compared to a Traditional Low-Voltage AC System
Energies
LVDC
self-sufficiency index
load aggregation
power converters
photovoltaic
efficiency
author_facet Hakim Azaioud
Robbert Claeys
Jos Knockaert
Lieven Vandevelde
Jan Desmet
author_sort Hakim Azaioud
title A Low-Voltage DC Backbone with Aggregated RES and BESS: Benefits Compared to a Traditional Low-Voltage AC System
title_short A Low-Voltage DC Backbone with Aggregated RES and BESS: Benefits Compared to a Traditional Low-Voltage AC System
title_full A Low-Voltage DC Backbone with Aggregated RES and BESS: Benefits Compared to a Traditional Low-Voltage AC System
title_fullStr A Low-Voltage DC Backbone with Aggregated RES and BESS: Benefits Compared to a Traditional Low-Voltage AC System
title_full_unstemmed A Low-Voltage DC Backbone with Aggregated RES and BESS: Benefits Compared to a Traditional Low-Voltage AC System
title_sort low-voltage dc backbone with aggregated res and bess: benefits compared to a traditional low-voltage ac system
publisher MDPI AG
series Energies
issn 1996-1073
publishDate 2021-03-01
description The increasing penetration of PV into the distribution grid leads to congestion, causing detrimental power quality issues. Moreover, the multiple small photovoltaic (PV) systems and battery energy storage systems (BESSs) result in increasing conversion losses. A low-voltage DC (LVDC) backbone to interconnect these assets would decrease the conversion losses and is a promising solution for a more optimal integration of PV systems. The multiple small PV systems can be replaced by shared assets with large common PV installations and a large BESS. Sharing renewable energy and aggregation are activities that are stimulated by the European Commission and lead to a substantial benefit in terms of self-consumption index (SCI) and self-sufficiency index (SSI). In this study, the benefit of an LVDC backbone is investigated compared to using a low-voltage AC (LVAC) system. It is found that the cable losses increase by 0.9 percent points and the conversion losses decrease by 12 percent points compared to the traditional low-voltage AC (LVAC) system. The SCI increases by 2 percent points and the SSI increases by 6 percent points compared to using an LVAC system with shared meter. It is shown that an LVDC backbone is only beneficial with a PV penetration level of 65% and that the BESS can be reduced by 22% for the same SSI.
topic LVDC
self-sufficiency index
load aggregation
power converters
photovoltaic
efficiency
url https://www.mdpi.com/1996-1073/14/5/1420
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