BESS deployment and Virtual Power Plant: Technical and financial analysis of the Senelec network to assess the relevance

This article analyses the operating data of the Senegalese electrical network (Senelec). It highlights the importance for it to implement Battery Energy Storage System (BESS) in the context of the massive deployment of photovoltaic and wind power plants connected to the HV network. It presents the technical and financial opportunities of a strategy for the development of storage solutions combined with a Virtual Power Plant (VPP) to manage their optimal operation. This study completes the work carried out on the same electrical network and which suggests BESS to optimize the penetration rate of photovoltaic energy in the Senelec network and to improve the stability of these network. Based on the simulations of Senelec's network previously carried out using Power Factory software and the operating data of the electrical system as well as the energy purchases made, it was demonstrated that there is a real financial impact of VPP implementation supported by the BESS. Indeed, the deployment of the VPP will allow Senelec to meet the requirements of primary frequency control on the Interconnected Network. The focus of this work consists in the installation of storage capacities managed by the VPP to allow the grid operator to store the overage of energy produced by the PV and Wind power plants and to restore it at peak hours. It has been shown that this solution also allows for savings of at least 1 billion (XOF) avoiding in addition to request additional generation (thermal or gas) to meet peak hour demands.