Probabilistic Sizing of Battery Energy Storage System for Solar Photovoltaic Output Smoothing

Malaysia is strategically located in the tropical region which is abundant in solar resources. Nevertheless, countries with tropical climatic condition is known for the high passing cloud events. This phenomenon has introduced technical challenges to the integration of solar photovoltaic (PV) system to electricity networks. The high intermittency of solar irradiance will lead to rapid solar output power fluctuations, which is harmful to the operation of the electricity grid. Hence, this paper aims to utilize a battery energy storage system to smoothen solar output fluctuations under real weather conditions in Malaysia. More specifically, two smoothing methods were considered to determine the required battery capacity probabilistically for a grid-connected solar PV system installed at the Faculty of Electrical Engineering, Universiti Teknikal Malaysia Melaka.