Estimating financial viability of behind-the-meter peak shaving based on load profile shape: a shopping mall case study

This paper explores if trends exist in daily load profile shapes that can give an indication of the viability of implementing a behind-the-meter battery energy storage system for peak shaving applications. To explore this topic, five shopping mall profiles were analyzed, with and without a photovoltaic array. The critical load profile day was used as a focus point for analysis. An interactive visualization tool was developed to assist the user in identifying the critical load profile in every month. These load profile shapes were then analyzed in an attempt to link their shape attributes to financial metrics obtained from HOMER Grid simulation software. The critical load profiles were successfully categorized into different shape categories with every shape linking to a better or worse return in relation to another.