Towards Robust and Scalable Dispatch Modeling of Long-Duration Energy Storage

TL;DR

This paper reviews challenges in modeling long-duration energy storage (LDES), evaluates existing approaches using high-renewable power systems, and highlights the potential for improved dispatch methods to enhance operational value and cost savings.

Contribution

It provides a comprehensive assessment of current LDES dispatch modeling approaches, compares their scalability and effectiveness, and identifies key areas for future research to improve robustness and applicability.

Findings

Better dispatch modeling could increase operational value by 4-14%.

Improved modeling can raise standard capacity credit by 14-34%.

The end volume target dispatch approach shows promising scalability and performance.

Abstract

Existing modeling approaches for long-duration energy storage (LDES) are often based either on an oversimplified representation of power system operations or limited representation of storage technologies, e.g., evaluation of only a single application. This manuscript presents an overview of the challenges of modeling LDES technologies, as well as a discussion regarding the capabilities and limitations of existing approaches. We used two test power systems with high shares of both solar photovoltaics- and wind (70% - 90% annual variable renewable energy shares) to assess LDES dispatch approaches. Our results estimate that better dispatch modeling of LDES could increase the associated operational value by 4% - 14% and increase the standard capacity credit by 14% - 34%. Thus, a better LDES dispatch could represent significant cost saving opportunities for electric utilities and system operators. In addition, existing LDES dispatch modeling approaches were tested in terms of both improved system value (e.g., based on production cost and standard capacity credit) and scalability (e.g., based on central processing unit time and peak memory usage). Both copper plate and nodal representations of the power system were considered. Although the end volume target dispatch approach, i.e., based on mid-term scheduling, showed promising performance in terms of both improved system value and scalability, there is a need for robust and scalable dispatch approaches for LDES in transmission-constrained electric grids. Moreover, more research is required to better understand the optimal operation of LDES considering extreme climate/weather events, reliability applications, and power system operational uncertainties.