Why is battery energy storage important for PV industry?

It will serve as input to PV industry certification and compliance approaches and practices. Combining PV with storage brings additional financial considerations. Battery energy storage can resolve technical barriers to grid integration of PV and increase total penetration and market for PV.

What should NREL consider when testing energy storage systems?

Photo by Owen Roberts, NREL Considerations for energy storage system testing include the following. If cost-justified by a large purchase, consider qualification testing of battery systems. Include test conditions in specifications for battery O&M diagnostics and testing.

Which inverter is required for a combined PV and storage system?

Combined PV and storage system topologies will generally require a bi-directional inverter, either as the primary inverter solution (DC-coupled) or in addition to the unidirectional PV inverters (AC-coupled).

How are topologies determined for PV plus storage systems?

Topologies for PV plus storage systems are typically determined by a combination of regulatory constraints and technical inputs paired with anticipated system behavior and associated system efficiency and cost.

Why is energy availability important in assessing PV systems?

Both energy and availability are necessary metrics for assessing PV systems. If the stakeholders involved in a contract are most interested in energy production, and if the contract holds parties responsible for energy production, then it is crucial that energy losses associated with unavailability and system performance are accounted for.

Can a battery be paired with solar PV?

Energy management (control) systems become a critical element of system economics when a battery is paired with solar PV. There are a number of different energy management approaches that are applied to PV plus storage systems. The selection for a given context will depend on constraints based on system design and topology, markets, and costs.