Virtual Transmission Solution Based on Battery Energy Storage Systems to Boost Transmission Capacity

The increasing penetration of variable renewable energy (VRE) generation along with the decommissioning of conventional power plants in Chile, has raised several operational challenges in the Chilean National Power Grid (NPG), including transmission congestion and VRE curtailment. To mitigate these limitations, an innovative virtual transmission solution based on battery energy storage systems (BESSs), known as grid booster (GB), has been proposed to increase the capacity of the main 500 kV corridor of the NPG. This paper analyzes the dynamic performance of the GB using a wide-area electromagnetic transient (EMT) model of the NPG. The GB project, composed of two 500 MVA BESS units at each extreme of the 500 kV corridor, allows increasing the transmission capacity for 15 min during N-1 contingencies, overcoming transmission limitations under normal operation conditions while maintaining system stability during faults. The dynamic behavior of the GB is also analyzed to control power flow as well as voltage stability. The results show that the GB is an effective solution to allow greater penetration of VRE generation while maintaining system stability in the NPG.