THIRD PV-ESTIA NEWSLETTER
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The Photovoltaic (PV) power in the energy mix is increasingly having a major role in achieving the Renewable Energy Sources (RES) targets towards 2020 and beyond. However, this is not always accomplished smoothly. PVs are connected in electric power grids designed originally to deliver power to consumers and not to host power generation. This leads to several technical problems leading to imposing barriers in the expansion of PV energy and the need for significant investments in the grids. Combined with the intermittent nature of PV energy there is a serious risk that, despite the decreasing price of PV energy, there will be a stall in PV penetration.
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The project is funded by the transnational Cooperation Programme Interreg V-B "Balkan-Mediterranean 2014-2020" and co-funded by the national funds.
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Main target
- To enhance the integration of PVs and storage systems in the building environment.
Why?
- To transform buildings into a controllable energy source;
- To enable the transition towards Nearly Zero Energy Building (NZEB) concept;
- To add flexibility to the electrical network.
How?
- Through the implementation of PV and storage system pilots in the participating countries;
- Through the data analysis of the implemented PV and storage system pilots.
- Through an innovative management scheme of the hybrid PV+ Storage system.
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Methodology
- Analysis of existing policies and regulatory frameworks of the participating countries ;
- Development of an innovative management scheme for hybrid PV+Storage systems ;
- Development of optimization tools to evaluate the performance of the hybrid PV+Storage systems under different electricity pricing policies ;
- Implementation of pilot installations for the assessment of the hybrid PV+Storage under real-field conditions.
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The PV-ESTIA PV+Storage pilots
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THESSALONIKI, GREECE
15 kWp PV panels + 15 kW inverters + 18 kWh batteries are installed within the AUTH Research Committee building.
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KOZANI, GREECE
20 kWp PV installation coupled with 2 hybrid inverters (2x10kW) and LiFePO4 (10,24 kWh/inverter), located within one of the buildings of the student dormitories of the University of Western Macedonia.
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NICOSIA, CYPRUS
- A public pilot - an existing 12 KWp PV system is AC-coupled with a 15 kW / 27.9 kWh Lithium-ion Battery Energy Storage System (BESS).
- 5 residential pilots are implemented - an existing 3 kWp PV system is AC-coupled with a 2.5 kW / 9.3 kWh Lithium-ion BESS at each site in the wider area of Nicosia.
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PLOVDIV, BULGARIA
A total of 13.5 kWp + 48 kWh storage capacity is implemented within 5 prosumers in Plovdiv area, each one consisted of:
- 2.70 kWP PV panles + 9,6kWh LiFePO4 BESS + 5kW hybrid inverter.
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SKOPJE, NORTH MACEDONIA
A 7.7 kWh Lithium Titanate (LTO) battery is DC-coupled with a 10 kWp PV generator through a 10 kW hybrid inverter at Faculty of Electrical Engineering and Information Technologies.
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Innovative Management Scheme for hybrid PV+Storage systems
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In the context of the PV-ESTIA project, the design and testing of an innovative management scheme for Battery Energy Storage Systems (BESS) was performed by the FOSS Research Centre for Sustainable Energy of the University of Cyprus (UCY).
Using a laboratory BESS pilot several simulations cases, focused on the battery management when covering electrical and thermal loads, have been tested. Typical residential load profiles for Cyprus, based on actual data collected were used, to develop and validate the simulation of BESS operational modes.
In order to achieve optimal battery capacity utilisation, an intelligent management of the BESS has been considered. According to this, the BESS can be also charged by the off-peak energy offered by the power grid (e.g. overnight) and by the excess PV generation of the building. Therefore, the BESS management for the overnight charging level optimisation was also investigated, taking into consideration the seasonality, the energy capacity and the power converter rating, to achieve both higher utilisation of the PV system and reduced electricity bills for the end-users.
From the examined cases, it was concluded that, depending on the size of the battery and the inverter, overnight charging can lead to more efficient utilisation of the BESS, while offering also enhanced performance to the grid.
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Figure 1: BESS charging patterns for different overnight charging levels through different seasons
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A core task of the project was the definition and implementation of the monitoring and data acquisition method in each of the participating countries. Project partners have defined common monitoring schemes and set the objectives for data assessment according to the needs for data analysis by using collected data from the pilots that are specified, purchased and installed in each country. The PV-ESTIA project includes two types of pilots – residential and public pilots.
The common monitoring scheme is based on collecting:
- (i) Electrical data, such as PV generation, load and battery operation;
- (ii) Thermal data, such as indoor and ambient temperature, humidity and thermal energy consumption; and
- (iii) additional data that provides added value to the pilot, such as solar irradiation, reactive power consumption, reactive PV power etc.
Based on the inherent specification of the different partnering countries, each pilot location is used for measuring different optional parameters. The monitoring schemes are already established in Bulgaria, Cyprus, Greece and in North Macedonia. The data obtained from the monitoring will shed light on the effects of different conditions on the operation of PV+storage systems and will provide clarity on their role in NZEBs.
- Detailed data from the monitoring will be available within the next issue of the PV-ESTIA newsletter.
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PV-ESTIA has developed an online tool that can facilitate the design of PV and storage systems in buildings. The tool can model both the thermal and the electrical energy demand of the building, with minimum required input from the user. The modeling of thermal energy demand is made using an hourly method based on ISO 52016-01:2017. The electrical demand is modeled using a bottom-up approach and a questionnaire (time-of-use survey). The user has to provide inputs related to the main building elements (i.e. number of windows, useful areas, location, etc) and on how the electrical appliances are used.
The inputs to the tool are split into 6 screens in different categories. The “General” tab required basic input about the location of the building and the number of residents. The “Load” tab is split into the “Load thermal” one where inputs used to model the thermal demand are entered, and the “Electrical” one that contains the time-of-use survey. In the “Components” tab the user should enter data related to the appliances of the household and the PV and battery systems. The “Electricity pricing” tab contains the detailed pricing, allowing also the use of time zones, while the “Energy Billing” tab includes basic information about the policy scheme which applies to the PV and battery system. Finally, the last tab requires basic financial inputs.
Once all inputs are provided, an optimization procedure is employed aiming to minimize the total cost of the prosumer, taking into account the electricity costs and the installation costs for a PV and battery system. The results show the optimal combination of PV and battery sizes for the chosen configuration that yields the highest profits for the prosumer.
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In the framework of the project, country specific policies will be proposed towards the promotion of storage in buildings. An investigation on the existing policy barriers in the participating countries was conducted by AUTH and the partners of the project. Among the most important barriers is the lack of legislative framework regarding storage installations in buildings. Certain modifications on the current incentive policies and electricity pricing schemes will be proposed to facilitate the use of storage integrated with PVs.
A set of Joint Policy recommendations will be done comparing the specific policies in partners countries building on the common barriers for the further integration of PV and ESSs, such as:
- Complicated legislative framework, or absence of legislation related to BESS
- Incentive schemes that do not promote BESS;
- Flat pricing;
- Absence of a market for ancillary services that could be provided by BESSs.
At the end a generic business model for storage that could be adapted in all partner countries will be proposed.
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DISSEMINATION AND PROMOTION
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PV-ESTIA project paves the way towards more NZEBs, towards more Renewables and Sustainability in the Balkan-Med area.
If you want to learn how we are doing it, watch our first video.
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Second PV-ESTIA international workshop
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The international workshop, "Towards an efficient implementation of storage in buildings - Experiences and good practice", organized in the framework of the PV-ESTIA project and the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki brought several energy experts from the market and the universities, which shared their experience regarding the implementation of storage systems in buildings.
The main subjects of the workshop were:
- the European experience, research and perspectives for storage.
- Hybrid PV+Storage.
- the Interreg Balkan MED area experience.
- developing the tools for the future intelligent power grids.
At the end, the workshop included a panel discussion, which became a platform for communication for 60 participants, including key stakeholders from universities, research institutions, distribution system operators, electricity retail companies, as well as policy makers and engineers.
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PV-ESTIA Scientific Papers
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We have collected all PV-ESTIA Scientific papers at one place.
Check them out here:
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PV-ESTIA Event Dissemination & Promotion Activities
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Several workshops and other dissemination events either were organised by the PV-ESTIA consortium or with the participation of the PV-ESTIA partners presenting the project, namely:
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- BUA 2019 Conference – 5th Meeting of the Balkan Universities Association, 16-18 April 2019, Thessaloniki, Greece.
- Student’s Conference of Electrical and Computer Engineering (ESESCON 11), 19-21 April 2019, Thessaloniki, Greece.
- The 1st International Conference on Energy Transition in the Mediterranean Area (Synergy MED), 28-30 May 2019, Cagliari, Italy.
- A paper was presented in IEEE International Conference on Environment and Electrical Engineering and 9 IEEE Industrial and Commercial Power Systems Europe (EEEIC / I&CPS Europe) in Genoa (11th and 14th June 2019)
- 6th International Conference on Renewable Energy Sources & Energy Efficiency (RESEE 2018), Cyprus
- AT-SGIRES (Erasmus+ Project) Training Workshop on Smart Gird, Cyprus
- ERASMUS+ DIEGO workshop on Renewable Sources of Energy, Smart Grids and Enabling Technologies, Uruguay
- Cyprus Energy Agency and their partners visit at FOSS / PV Technology Lab, Cyprus
- 16th International Conference of Machines, Drives and Power Systems (ELMA) 2019 Conference, Bulgaria
- 11th MAKO CIGRE Conference, Ohrid, North Macedonia
- 15th EE&RES Exhibition, 16-18 April, Sofia, 2019,Bulgaria
- Second National NZEB conference, 30th May - 1st June, Burgas, Bulgaria
- Mentoring for smart incentives for smart buildings under the PROSPECT project, 18-19, September, Plovdiv, Bulgaria
- 10th Energy Planning and Modelling of Energy Systems (EPMES), 12-13 December, Skopje, North Macedonia
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Aristotle University of Thessaloniki - Department of Electrical & Computer Engineering
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University of Western Macedonia
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University of Cyprus - Foss Research Centre For Sustainable Energy
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Energy Agency of Plovdiv
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Ss Cyril and Methodius University in Skopje
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OBSERVER PARTNER:
Ministry of Environment and Energy - Directorate for Renewables and Electricity
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OBSERVER PARTNER:
EVN Electricity Distribution LLC Skopje
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