Technical and Financial Analysis of the Integration of Electrochemical Storage Systems in the Costa Rican Power System

This paper presents a technical and financial analysis of the results pertaining Costa Rica, from a larger study for optimal capacity, allocation and use strategy, for distributed Battery Energy Storage Systems (BESS) in the Central American power grid. The study results indicate a total BESS capacity of 688 MWh / 100 MW for Costa Rica, with an estimated investment cost of approximately USD 63.29 M by 2024 and a Levelized Cost of Electricity (LCOE) of 53.04 USD/MWh. The technical feasibility of BESS implementation is established, and the financial analysis indicates that the initial installation costs do not jeopardize the project’s financial viability. The recent trend of decreasing costs has resulted in a lower Levelized Cost of Energy (LCOE) compared to that of the corresponding thermal generation unit.