Evaluation of a Solar Plus Battery Energy Storage Microgrid Topology Transition from AC to Hybrid

Abstract

Microgrids provide economy and reliability on energy consumption when working with distributed energy resources (DERs) such as solar panels, fuel cells, and battery storage. There are many ways to couple those elements and many more to control each one. This paper deals with a microgrid composed of a photovoltaic solar plant and a lead-carbon battery energy storage system, both connected to an AC bus, that undergoes modifications to become hybrid coupled (connection not only through an AC bus, but also through a DC bus). Coupling topologies are summarized, the modifications needed to the transformation are reported, an operation strategy to manage the energy flow in an optimal way is proposed, and the strategy is validated.