System Integration of Utility-Scale PV Plus Battery Storage – Interoperability and “Lessons Learned”

Results of real-world implementation of solar-plus-storage smart grid applications

Public Service Company of New Mexico (PNM) developed the Prosperity Energy Storage Project involving a PV plant plus bulk storage system as part of a U.S. Department of Energy Smart Grid Demonstration Project. It was initially commissioned in September 2011, with additional functionality being added over time. The project has tested a series of smart grid applications, beginning with PV output “smoothing” to peak shifting, peak shaving, arbitraging storage using wholesale market signals, and using optimization algorithms to maximize the value of the storage system.

This presentation reviews the results of the project’s tests for each of these smart grid applications as of 2014, illustrating the potential “stack” of benefits that can be created by optimizing the operation of the integrated system. The presentation also includes detailed interoperability lessons learned from design, deployment, and field operations of the project.

What’s in the report

• Overview of PNM’s Prosperity Energy Storage Project
• Initial and finalized design
• Interoperability challenges and lessons learned
• Application results for PV and storage smoothing, shifting, shaving, and arbitraging