Fundamentals of Using Battery Energy Storage Systems to Provide Primary Control Reserves in Germany

The application of stationary battery storage systems to German electrical grids can help with various storage services. This application requires controlling the charge and discharge power of such a system. For example, photovoltaic (PV) home storage, uninterruptible power supply, and storage systems for providing ancillary services such as primary control reserves (PCRs) represent battery applications with positive profitability. Because PCRs are essential for stabilizing grid frequency and maintaining a robust electrical grid, German transmission system operators (TSOs) released strict regulations in August 2015 for providing PCRs with battery storage systems as part of regulating the International Grid Control Cooperation (IGCC) region in Europe. These regulations focused on the permissible state of charge (SoC) of the battery during nominal and extreme conditions. The concomitant increased capacity demand oversizing may result in a significant profitability reduction, which can be attenuated only by using an optimal parameterization of the control algorithm for energy management of the storage systems. In this paper, the sizing optimization is achieved and a recommendation for a control algorithm that includes the appropriate parameters for the requirements in the German market is given. Furthermore, the storage cost is estimated, including battery aging simulations for different aging parameter sets to allow for a realistic profitability calculation