Interaction of Flexible Demands with Battery Storage Systems in Distribution Grids

The energy transition causes fundamental changes in distribution networks. In addition to increased decentralized generation, ongoing electrification introduces new demands at the local level. The integration of these loads is a major challenge for the distribution network. For stable operation, it is unclear whether existing flexibilities are sufficient or whether grid expansion is necessary. Flexible demands alone do not seem to be sufficient to prevent critical grid situations caused by photovoltaic (PV) feed-in. Therefore, this paper investigates whether the addition of battery storage systems (BSSs) can lead to an improvement. For this purpose, BSSs are integrated into a coupled control system for flexible consumers, which considers both market-side and grid-side incentives simultaneously using a receding horizon approach. A case study investigates the impact of decentralized and centralized BSSs compared to a system without BSSs. The results show that decentralized distribution of BSSs is not necessarily required to better integrate PV feed-in. However, the integration in general requires large BSS capacities, whose economic operation is questionable compared to the regulation of PV systems directly.