The reliability of energy supply is an important factor for end-users of electricity. Although many advances and efforts have been made by distribution companies to guarantee energy quality, weak feeders and grids are still usually found. As an alternative to minimize such problems, Battery Energy Storage Systems (BESSs) can be used to supply energy to users in the case of power outages or major energy quality problems. This paper presents test results on a real application scenario in a microgrid with different load configurations in the moment of interruption. The tests were compared to each other to analyze the impact found in each scenario. In addition to those, real unpremeditated cases of power quality problems were also discussed, and the performance of the utilized BESS was evaluated.

This research addresses strategic recommendations regarding the applications of battery energy storage systems (BESS) in the context of the deregulated electricity market. The main emphasis is on regulatory dimensions, incentive mechanisms, and the provision of marketable storage services. The study’s findings demonstrate that battery energy storage systems (BESS) have distinct characteristics that challenge their conventional classification as a load or generator within power systems. The study additionally emphasizes the insights, lessons learned, and good practices gained from early adopter countries in implementing energy storage systems (ESS). These insights include the importance of establishing a precise definition of ESS, promoting collaborative engagement with relevant stakeholders, and developing a series of incentive strategies. The results show that nations that pioneered BESS’s application in their electricity matrices have effectively promoted storage services in deregulated markets, employing storage assets for various purposes such as peak reduction, frequency regulation, renewable energy support, and energy arbitrage applications. These applications underline the potential of BESS to increase grid stability and minimize exposure to risk and volatility in the revenues of storage agents in deregulated markets.

The insertion of renewable sources to diversify the energy matrix is one of the alternatives for the energy transition. In this sense, Brazil is one of the largest producers of renewable energy in the world, mainly in wind generation. However, the impact of integrating intermittent sources into the system depends on their penetration level, causing problems in the electrical network. To evaluate this scenario, the present article aims to investigate the power quality problems generated by wind turbines in connection with the electrical system and how battery energy storage systems (BESS) solve or mitigate these disturbances in the network. Knowing the impacts of high generation power variability, the focus of the work is the application of power smoothing. However, results are presented for five applications (factor correction, voltage control, power factor smoothing, frequency control and time shift) that can be carried out at the studied wind farm. This article presents a real BESS, which has a capacity of 1 MW/1.29 MWh, connected in parallel to a group of wind turbines that provides a power of approximately 50.4 MW located in Brazil. In addition to presenting the system simulation in HOMER Pro software, this study validates the effectiveness of this BESS by presenting real operation data for each application.

Electric substations (ESS) are important facilities that must operate even under contingency to guarantee the electrical system’s performance. To achieve this goal, the Brazilian national electricity system operator establishes that alternating current (AC) auxiliary systems of ESS must have, at least, two power supplies, and in the case of failure of these sources, an emergency generator (EG) must at least supply energy to the essential loads. In order to improve the availability of auxiliary systems, a microgrid with other sources, such as photovoltaic (PV) systems and Battery Energy Storage Systems (BESS), can be an alternative. In this case, an economical optimization of the PV/BESS system must be addressed considering the costs associated with the installation and maintenance of equipment, and the gains from the credits generated by the photovoltaic system in the net metering scheme. In this paper, the size of the BESS system was determined to supply energy to the load of auxiliary systems of an ESS, as well as a PV system to achieve a null total cost. Furthermore, multi-objective optimization using the genetic algorithm technique was employed to optimize the size of the hybrid PV/BESS to minimize the investment cost and time when the demand was not met. Simulations under different scenarios of contingency were allowed to obtain the Pareto frontier for the optimal sizing of a PV/BESS system to supply energy to AC auxiliary systems in an ESS under contingency.

Substation (SS) auxiliary systems (SAux) are facilities responsible for hosting the alternating (AC) and direct current (DC) busbar to serve the equipment and systems that perform the substation’s protection, control, and supervision. External and internal power supplies typically ensure the continuity of such a facility. The electricity support will be restricted to diesel emergency generators (DG) if the external power supply is unavailable due to a contingency. The DG present a slower response time and are susceptible to starting failures. Microgrids with Battery Energy Storage Systems (BESS) paired with photovoltaic systems (PV) are presented as an innovative and reliable solution for powering the SAux. In this article, tests were carried out on the microgrid of the Edson Mororó Moura Institute of Technology (ITEMM) in Brazil to support the use of microgrids BESS/PV in the SAux of a transmission SS of the São Francisco Hydroelectric Company (Chesf). Without an external power supply, BESS commands the action of islanded operation, maintaining both voltage and frequency requirements of the microgrid without load shedding. It was possible to observe all operations of the microgrid. The experimental results showed that the solution proposed in the paper implements a dependable self-dispatchable autonomous power supply.

This article presents a robust analysis based on the data obtained from a genuine microgrid in operation, simulated by utilizing a diesel generator (DG) in lieu of the Battery Energy Storage System (BESS) to meet the same load during periods of elevated energy costs. The study reveals that the BESS significantly outperforms the DG and the conventional electrical grid in various financial and environmental aspects. Environmentally, BESS accounts for zero CO₂ emissions, compared to the 67.32 tons of CO₂ emitted annually by the DG. Financially, the total cost of BESS over 20 years (USD 1,553,791.31) is lower than that of DG (USD 1,564,965.18) and the electrical grid (USD 2,726,181.09). Furthermore, BESS displays a lower Required Average Discharge Price—RADP (USD 0.38/kWh) and Required Average Price Spread—RAPS (USD 0.18/kWh) compared to DG (RADP: USD 0.39/kWh; RAPS: USD 0.22/kWh) and the electrical grid (RADP: USD 0.71/kWh; RAPS: USD 0.38/kWh). During periods of high-energy tariffs, BESS provides significant environmental benefits, but it also offers a more economically advantageous option to meet the load. It offers an energy-efficient and economically feasible solution for the operation of microgrids.