Energy Storage for Export Limitation Mitigation and Capacity Factor Enhancement in GB: A Case Study

Local distribution network-driven limitation of distributed generation is an increasing problem for the Great Britain distribution network. This paper presents for the first time a novel case study on the implementation of Energy Storage Systems for increasing the capacity factor of sites subject to such export limitation schemes. This includes a technical performance comparison and sensitivity study between Battery Energy Storage Systems (BESSs) and Flywheel Energy Storage Systems (FESSs), where it is shown that despite both mediums delivering effective support for this application, the cycling intensity is in excess of what a BESS can reasonably handle leading to excessive degradation. Conversely, the FESS is able to handle the required cycle rates easily with only a small drop in performance compared to the battery. In terms of economic performance, it is shown that a FESS can provide a positive economic impact up to and including a total capital cost of £1500/kW, whilst a BESS can provide a positive economic impact up to a value of £500/kW.