Economic Optimal Operation of Community Energy Storage Systems in Competitive Energy Markets

TL;DR

This paper proposes an algorithm for optimally scheduling community energy storage to maximize economic benefits by leveraging fluctuating energy prices in competitive markets.

Contribution

It introduces a novel algorithm for community energy storage operation that capitalizes on market price fluctuations, enhancing economic efficiency.

Findings

Optimal scheduling reduces energy costs for communities.

Market-driven operation increases revenue from storage systems.

Key drivers include price volatility and system load patterns.

Abstract

Distributed, controllable energy storage devices offer several benefits to electric power system operation. Three such benefits include reducing peak load, providing standby power, and enhancing power quality. These benefits, however, are only realized during peak load or during an outage, events that are infrequent. This paper presents a means of realizing additional benefits by taking advantage of the fluctuating costs of energy in competitive energy markets. An algorithm for optimal charge/discharge scheduling of community energy storage (CES) devices as well as an analysis of several of the key drivers of the optimization are discussed.