1

Utility Scale Battery Energy Storage Systems

Nicholas Miller, Fellow, IEEE, Devon Manz, Jim Roedel, Member, IEEE, Paul Marken, Senior
Member, IEEE, and Erik Kronbeck

wind and solar power [2], [3]. With the renewable portfolio
Abstract—As interest in renewable energy continues to gain standards and tax incentives being offered for these
momentum, use of power electronics in both generation and technologies, it is helpful to understand the various
transmission systems has become increasingly important. One applications and use of the available battery chemistries.
device that has enjoyed much interest as of late is the Battery
Reference [3] alone mentions eight different battery
Energy Storage System. Advancements in battery technology
coupled with modern power electronics has resulted in a plethora technologies in addition to supercapacitors, flywheels,
of possibilities for such systems. This paper provides an thermal, and pumped hydro storage options. With so many
overview of battery energy storage systems. It also divulges the different battery chemistries being developed by various
views and experiences of one particular manufacturer, General manufacturers, it is important to understand the various uses
Electric, and its experience with Battery Energy Storage and advantages of each as a one size fits all solution appears
projects. It also discusses some possibilities for future
to not yet exist [4].
applications including frequency regulation, peak shaving, and
integration of renewables.
III. BESS TECHNICAL OVERVIEW
Index Terms—Battery storage plants, Energy Storage,
Frequency control, Power System control, Wind energy A. Energy Storage System Basics
A basic one-line diagram of the main equipment of a BESS
I. NOMENCLATURE is represented in Figure 1 below. The BESS is tied to the grid
BESS: Battery Energy Storage Systems via a medium-voltage breaker. A transformer steps down the
FACTS: Flexible AC Transmission Systems voltage to a suitable voltage level for the Power Conversion
System (PCS). The self-commutating PCS provides four-
II. INTRODUCTION quadrant power conversion between the ac and dc systems.
The control system provides interface to a SCADA system
T HE past two decades have proven important for the
advancement of Utility-scale Battery Energy Storage
Systems (BESS). Successful BESS projects have now
and coordinates the operation of the BESS. Specifics of the
control system are driven by the requirements of the BESS
application, as discussed below. The protection and control
provided ten plus years of operational experience, such as the
system includes a Battery Management System (BMS), which
1MW/1.4 MWh BESS for Metlakatla Power and Light
monitors the health and status of the battery.
(MP&L) which is providing frequency regulation services,
voltage support and system stability and control in southeast
Alaska on the Annette Island Reserve. The MP&L system has
met and exceeded expectations with regard to the overall
system life and maintenance from the original project
predictions, and was outlined at the recent Energy Storage
Association conference [1]. Projects like these have set the
stage for power grids and utilities to begin exploring the use
of Battery Energy Storage to assist with the integration of
renewables and to assist with increases in customer reliability
and power quality.
Energy storage is expected to play an increasingly
important role in the Smart Grid and the advancement of the
power grid particularly to accommodate increasing
penetration of variable renewable energy resources such as

Nick Miller is a director with GE Energy’s Energy Applications and

System Engineering group in Schenectady, NY, USA.
Devon Manz is an energy systems engineer with GE Global Research in
Niskayuna, NY, USA
Jim Roedel, Paul Marken, and Erik Kronbeck are with GE Energy
Transmission and Distribution in Denver, CO, Columbia City, IN, and Fig. 1. Simplified BESS One-line Diagram.
Buffalo, NY respectively. (email: [Link]@[Link]).

978-1-4244-6551-4/10/$26.00
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B. Basics of Energy Storage and load frequency control [9].

Electrical energy in an ac system cannot be stored D. Energy Storage Applications
electrically. However, energy can be stored by converting the
The Power to Energy ratio of various batteries is an
ac electricity and storing it electromagnetically,
important aspect in the design and decision of choosing the
electrochemically, kinetically, or as potential energy [5]. Each
right battery chemistry for the appropriate utility application.
energy storage technology usually includes a power
Most batteries whether they have a higher power than energy
conversion unit to convert the energy from one form to
rating or vice versa can be used for either Energy or Power
another. Two factors characterize the application of an energy
applications. However, batteries that are optimized for one or
storage technology. One is the amount of energy that can be
the other function usually provide a more economical
stored in the device; this is a characteristic of the storage
solution. Using the wrong battery technology could also
device itself. Another is the rate at which energy can be
result in a much larger overall footprint and system cost.
transferred into or out of the storage device. This depends
Shown in Figure 2 is a schematic of the various applications
mainly on the peak power rating of the power conversion unit,
across the power to energy ratios of different battery
but is also impacted by the response rate of the storage device
chemistries. This figure illustrates that lead-acid and sodium
itself.
batteries are better suited to storing larger amounts of energy
The energy rating is the usable energy storage capacity of
for longer time periods, but at lower instantaneous power
the device at a defined discharge rate. The manufacturer may
levels. Applications such as load peak shaving and economic
provide this rating at several discharge rates. To be
activities associated with price arbitrage tend to fit well with
meaningful, all limiting parameters such as rate, temperature
these technologies.
and end of discharge voltage should be specified. The rating
By comparison, Ni-Cad, Ni-MH, and Li-Ion batteries work
for energy is normally expressed in watt-hours (Wh).
better in applications requiring a shorter duty cycle.
These concepts of power and energy rating apply to all
Frequency regulation is an example of less overall energy
utility scale energy storage technologies, including batteries,
being required but at a higher instantaneous amount of power.
flywheels, capacitors, and pumped hydro. Selection of the
This figure shows applicability of various battery
most appropriate storage technology is dependent on the
technologies. Other storage technologies may compete in this
application.
space as well. For example, extremely high power to energy
C. Battery Basics ratio applications may favor ultracapacitors. Applications
For battery based energy storage systems, the power and with high power and very high energy will likely favor
energy capabilities are largely driven by the battery chemistry. pumped storage hydro or compressed air technologies.
Functionally, this translates to the coulombic storage
capability for a given discharge rate. This is usually termed
capacity and is expressed in ampere-hours (Ah). If the
capacity is given in watt-hours the nominal voltage should
also be specified to allow calculation of the capacity in
ampere-hours. The nameplate rating of the device in Wh or
kWh should be accompanied by the rate of discharge in W or
kW or the time over which the rated energy can be discharged
[6]. Power ratings of both the batteries and the power
conversion systems must be coordinated, and should be
specified in watts (W) over a defined period of time.
Advances in battery technologies offer increased energy
storage densities, greater cycling capabilities, higher
reliability, and lower cost [7]. Battery Energy Storage Systems
(BESS) have emerged as one of the more promising near-term
storage technologies for power applications, offering a wide
range of power system applications such as frequency Fig. 2. Battery Energy Storage System Applications.
regulation, spinning reserve, and peak shaving [8]. The
reactive power capability of the four quadrant power Examples of the different storage requirements for grid
conversion system provides the ability to regulate voltage, services include:
largely independent of active power delivery or consumption. o Ancillary Services – including load following,
This functionality can be highly valuable in improving voltage operational reserve, frequency regulation, and fifteen
stability and voltage quality. The independent four quadrant minutes fast response.
capability is essential in islanded applications. o Peak shaving
Several BESS units have been designed and installed in o Black start, islanding
existing systems for the purposes of load leveling, stabilizing, o Renewables integration: ramp rate control,

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 3

management of wind and solar variability (where improved economy may result from increased power output
applicable) from economic on-line generation held back, or it may result
o Managing diurnal cycles for wind/solar: large energy in reduction of power output, by avoiding running generation
capacity, peak shift, arbitrage that is otherwise uneconomic but commited to provide
o Relieving congestion and constraints: short-duration reserves.
(power application, stability) and long-duration Existing generators inherently provide frequency
(energy application, relieve thermal loading). regulation, however some storage technologies should, in
o As part of a microgrid. theory, be excellent at providing regulation services because
they match a net zero energy resource with a zero net energy
Optimal installation site and capacity of BESS can be service. The quick response and precise control offered by
determined depending upon the application. energy storage using FACTS technologies can be superior to
the control capabilities of many conventional generators.
IV. TECHNICAL AND ECONOMIC VIABILITY FOR POTENTIAL Technologies that can perform repeated high cyclic storage
BESS APPLICATIONS without degradation in their performace should be best suited
For this paper various customer applications in various for regulation. Several independent system opreators (ISOs)
representative scenarios were studied. Using the market level in the US have adopted rules that allow energy storage
pricing available, three key BESS applications were systems with finite amounts of storage capability to particiapte
evaluated: frequency regulation, peak shaving, and generation in regulation ancillary service markets. Future regulation
variability. Results of each application are discussed and markets may further distinguish and reward the faster and
summarized below. more precise control from BESS, compared to existing
responses from thermal units, which may be limited by
A. Frequency Regulation machine time constants or mechanical constraints [12].
For small power systems where there are only one or a few Providing regulation services that include using a battery
generators, any given load is a more significant percentage of energy storage system may allow generation owners to
the overall power being consumed than when that same load is optimize their regulation services and also their generation
part of a major grid. Significant load increases may cause the assets.
frequency to slow and may even cause the voltage to sag.
Similarly, the frequency may increase beyond an acceptable B. Peak Shaving and Peak Load Deferral
threshhold when there is a significant loss of load. Keeping Although recently there have been numerous projects
the frequency within a tight tolerance requires that the amount considered as part of the American Recovery and
of power produced at any given instant matches the demand. Reinvestment Act (ARRA) [13], the overall market size for
Large power systems have grid codes that set performance this application is dependent on the price of the overall
limits on frequency and adherence to power exchange (tie-line system.
flow) schedule [10], [11]. Utilities are obliged to arrange for Given the current price levels of battery technologies and
resources with the requisite operational flexibility to be the overall total system costs, it is presently very challenging
available and under utility automatic generation control to develop an economic justification for utilities to store
(AGC) at all times. This is a service that is sometimes sold energy utilizing batteries during off-peak times and re-
via ancillary services markets [12]. For a generation entity to dispatch this energy later at peak times. However, it should be
provide this ancillary service, the generation must be noted that there might be specific locations on the grid where
commited (on-line) and there must be a certain amount of BESS can provide other services in addition to assisting with
generating capacity out of energy production. This provides peak shaving making such projects an option.
range for the generation to increase or decrease output in C. Renewable Variability
response to AGC commands. Providing this maneuving range
The proliferation of renewable portfolio standards and the
usually has significant opportunity or energy production cost
maturing of wind and solar technology (with decreasing costs,
implications. The market value of providing this energy-
higher availability, and greater reliability) are resulting in
neutral service, must reflect these costs.
increased amounts of renewable power. Solar and wind
Another related ancillary service that must be provided is
generation have traditionally been deployed onto the grid
spinning reserve. Unlike regulation, spinning reserve is
without requirements that they be able to provide frequency
autonomously controlled and is directly responsive to changes
regulation like most thermal or hydro plants. Wind and solar
in system frequency. Extra generating capacity is on line and
power present challenges to system operation in that the
ready to respond to a major event [12]. Like frequency
power output is both variable and uncertain. In many grids,
regulation reserves, spinning reserves hold generating
these renewable energy sources are reaching penetration
capacity back from energy production. An energy storage
levels where the displacement of traditional generation has
device such as BESS can be used to supplement both
signficant operational impact [14]. It is the variability in
frequency regulation and spinning reserve functions and
aggregate, or total, power generation from all resources on a
thereby allow more economic operation of the system. The
system that must be handled by frequency regulation. The

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impact of variability is moderated by spatial diversity in the curve is shown in Figure 3. This curve was constructed by
location of wind and solar plants. As penetration increases, sorting the hourly “system load” data for an entire year from
the need for frequency regulation services increases, while the highest to lowest for a typical U.S. power system. The figure
amount of thermal or hydro units on-line and and capable of provides information about the range of load that must be
providing frequency regulation decreases. The conventional served throughout a year by the generation fleet. This
generation displaced is often the marginal generators that approach has been traditionally used to provide long term
provide regulation. Distributed generation and cogeneration planning insight on the most economic mix of base load, mid-
similarly displace marginal conventional generation with merit and peaking generation. With the introduction of low or
resources that are unable to supply regulation. The net result zero marginal cost renewable generation, the remainder of the
can be a gap in between frequency regulation requirements generation fleet needs to serve whatever load is left after the
and capability. These factors will increase the need for new grid takes the renewable power. The second curve on Figure 3
technologies to supply regulation and spinning reserves. shows this “net load”. This is the remaining load that must be
Under these newly emerging conditions, appropriately rated served by the balance of the generation after the wind and
and controlled BESS can be used to provide these ancillary solar power has been delivered. The net load represents the
services, either as complement or in competition with amount of load that the operator must commit generation to
conventional thermal units. meet. In a number of wind power integration studies
In some systems, particularly physically small ones or performed by GE, including the California Wind Integration
systems with substantial transmission congestion, storage can Study [15], at high wind penetrations, the net load duration is
enhance the value of energy from individual renewable shaped similar to the curve shown in Figure 3. During light
generation plants. In this application, the energy storage is load conditions, the contribution of wind power is relatively
tightly coupled with a specific variable resource, rather than large as a percentage of the load. This indicates that today’s
providing a grid level ancillary service. This approach is baseload generation may in fact, at high levels of wind power,
prefferable under conditions where there is no suitable market be backed down to accommodate the wind power available at
or contractual mechanism by which incremental ancillary light load conditions
services can be procured at the grid level. This can also occur
when individual variable renewable resources are quite large Peak Peaking
relative to available and properly located balancing Load Generation

reserouces. The close coupled, or dedicated energy storage Addition of

System Load

can buffer the grid from variability, e.g. by supplying the wind power
power during sudden drops in power output due to loss of Minimum Mid-Merit
Generation
Load
wind or cloud cover, or by smoothing power output ramp rates
to filter out fast variations in power output and to allow other
system resources time to respond. Dedicated energy storage
can also address uncertainty by covering production schedule Baseload
Load Generation
departure due to errors in wind power forecast. These two
Net Load (Load – Wind)
topics are discussed in greater detail in Section V.
1 Year of Operation
V. POTENTIAL BESS SYSTEMS STUDIES Fig. 3. High Wind Penetration Net Load Duration Curve.

A. Frequency Regulation and Renewables Integration Traditionally, peaking generation is dispatched at high load
GE has performed wind integration studies in California, conditions when the baseload and mid-merit generation
Texas (ERCOT), Ontario, Canada, New York, Hawaii, and cannot sufficiently meet the demand. Peaking generation
the western region of the United States. These studies and tends to be the highest cost. During off-peak hours in the night
actual experience with wind plant deployments in the United or other low load conditions, peaking generation is less likely
States have shown that the addition of significant levels of to be dispatched because of its higher cost relative to the rest
wind power, changes the way power systems behave and of the fleet. On most power systems, wind delivered during
need to be operated. As wind and solar power is connected to the low load period is generally greater than the peak load
the grid, the thermal generation must now meet the net load. period. Thus, at these light load conditions, wind penetration
The net load is the remaining load served after the wind and as a percentage of load will be higher than at peak load
solar power has been delivered. Although geographic conditions [15]. As the wind penetration increases there is a
diversity and larger wind plant sizes reduces the short greater need for frequency regulation to balance the short
timescale variability of a single wind plant or wind turbine, timescale fluctuations in the wind power, particularly if there
the net load is still increasingly dynamic as compared to the is less geographic diversity of the wind plants. Therefore,
system load. The effect is non-linear so the impact is minor at there is a greater need for frequency regulation at the low load
low levels of penetration but increases substantially as the hours; this is the same time at which the flexible peaking
amount of wind and solar power increases. A load duration generation is off-line.

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 5

In a recent wind integration study performed by GE, the wind plants remained relatively stable during this time. As
performance of battery energy storage to mitigate the impact expected, this frequency excursion increased substantially in
of short timescale fluctuations in wind power was assessed. the “High Wind” case as the power imbalance was much
The power system considered in this study has an afternoon larger. Among the events selected over the more than one
peak load of ~1200MW and minimum evening load of year of operational history, the event observed in the
~700MW. The system is very weakly interconnected so the “Baseline” system was among the most observable change in
hourly balancing must be performed within the system. This system frequency caused by a wind power fluctuation on the
is a relatively common operational constraint for these types system.
of grids. The generation fleet is made up of the following In order to maintain a relatively tight system frequency and
plants: reduce the maneuvering of the thermal units caused by short
timescale fluctuations in wind power, a battery energy storage
o Two combined cycle plants system was considered. The frequency response for the case
o Three single-cycle gas turbines with a 25MW BESS is shown as the green trace in Figure 4.
o Multiple small diesel generation plants Inspection of that curve shows that the frequency variation is
o A single baseload power plant, with low marginal substantially reduced.
cost of operation. A range of battery power ratings, energy ratings, and
o Multiple small hydro power plant facilities control strategies were studied. For each of the cases, the
o One coal-fired steam plant RMS of the frequency deviation from 60Hz was quantified for
o Five oil-fired steam plants the one-hour window. A higher RMS provides a quantitative
o Three geographically diverse wind power plants. metric of more variable frequency response. The results are
shown in Figure 5.
Further details of this system are provided in an earlier
paper [16]. Approximately 166MW of wind power is
deployed on this power system and wind energy provides
about 10% of the annual energy (735GWh) with minimal
wind curtailment. In one of the “High Wind” scenarios, the
installed wind power was increased to 424MW, providing
about 20% of the annual energy (1565GWh). In this scenario
the system exhibited wind curtailment due to the limitations of
the system, particularly, at light load conditions, to accept all
of the available wind power.
In the Baseline system studied, a substantial wind Fig. 5. RMS of Frequency Deviations.
variability event on the order of ~20% power drop in one
minute was observed at the 103MW wind plant. The sudden The High Wind scenario without any battery energy
wind power fluctuation caused a substantial enough imbalance storage to provide frequency regulation, showed an RMS
between load and generation to cause a large frequency drop frequency deviation approximately twice as large as the
on the system. The simulated system frequency for the hour Baseline system. The BESS control strategy employed is
during which this wind drop occurred is shown as the blue dependant on the application and can have significant impact
trace in Figure 4. The substantial frequency excursion on capability. For one of the most viable control strategies
occurring at about 2100 seconds in the figure is associated implemented by GE for the High Wind Scenario, three storage
with this event and became the focus of this study. systems with different power ratings were considered. The
addition of a relatively small battery energy storage system in
comparison to the wind plant ratings significantly improved
the system frequency during this substantial wind power drop
on the system and reduced the maneuvering of the thermal
units providing frequency regulation. A 25MW rated storage
system improved the system frequency response to an even
tighter frequency band than the Baseline system. For all of
the storage system sizes considered, minimal energy was
required from the storage system over this one-hour window.
Typically less than ten minutes were required at rated power.
Fig. 4. Frequency response to a sudden wind power drop. Battery energy storage systems providing frequency
regulation to manage the short timescale fluctuations of wind
In the “High Wind” scenario this plant was increased to power offer an effective alternative to thermal generation. For
210MW in capacity, thereby increasing the severity of this this system, a 25MW BESS helped manage frequency on a
sudden wind power drop. In the “Baseline” system and the system with 424MW of wind power and an approximate peak
“High Wind” scenario the power output from the other two

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 6

load of 1200MW. This BESS substantially improved the VIII. REFERENCES

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VI. CONCLUSIONS [11] “Grid Code, High and Extra-High Voltage”, [Link] Netz GmbH,
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numerous energy storage projects, the reader is able to better 2004/291, pp.
understand the potential applications and economic value of [13] DOE Recovery Act Funding Announcement, November 24, 2009
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battery energy storage for the grid. With continued [14] N. Miller, K. Clark, M. Cardinal, and R. Delmerico, "Grid Friendly
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[16] Nicholas Miller, Sebastian Achilles, Gene Hinkle, Devon Manz.
VII. ACKNOWLEDGMENTS Advantages of Flexible Generation in High Wind Penetration
Grids. International Journal of VGB Powertech, 07/09
The authors would like to acknowledge other GE [17] Evaluation of Future Energy Technology Deployment Scenarios
contributors (Sebastian Achilles, Simon Schramm, Ara for the Big Island. Prepared for the U.S. Department of Energy
Panosyan, Gene Hinkle, Richard Piwko, Kara Clark, Gary Office of Electricity Delivery and Energy Reliability Under Award
No. DE-FC-06NT42847. University of Hawaii Hawaii Natural
Jordan and Lavelle Freeman) for their contributions to this Energy Institute
effort. Further, the GE team would like to acknowledge the
University of Hawaii, Hawaii Natural Energy Institute [17] IX. BIOGRAPHIES
The National Renewable Energy Laboratory, the California
Energy Commission, the California ISO, and the New York Nicholas Miller is a Director for GE Energy in Schenectady, NY. He has 30
years of experience in analysis of power systems dynamics. He is currently
State Energy Research and Development Administration, all leading analytical developments for large scale integration of wind generation
of who funded various GE examinations of renewable energy into power systems. Nick is a Fellow of IEEE, and a member of CIGRE’. He
integration topics. The team leveraged experience from is chairman of the IEEE Task Force on Dynamic Performance of Wind
Generation. He was a principal contributor to the landmark New York State
these studies to make this work possible. The system Wind study, on the California Intermittency Analysis Project,, the DOE NREL
described in this paper does not represent any of these entities’ Western Wind and Solar Integration Study, and the current New England
power systems. Wind Integration Study. He received the 2005 Utility Wind Interest Group

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 7

Achievement Award ‘for Outstanding Contributions to the Advancement of

Utility Compatible Wind Turbine Technology’. He is a licensed professional
engineer in the State of New York. He was part of the GE team that received
the 2007 American Wind Energy Association (AWEA) Technical
Achievement Award “For significant contributions to understanding the
technical and economic aspects of utility wind integration issues.”
Devon Manz (BSME’03, MSME’05, MPhil’06) graduated from the
University of Saskatchewan, Canada in 2003 with a Bachelors of Science in
Mechanical Engineering. In 2005, Devon graduated from MIT with a Masters
of Science in Mechanical Engineering. In 2006, Devon graduated with a
Master of Technology Policy from the Judge Business School at the
University of Cambridge. Devon joined GE Global Research as an Energy
Systems Engineer in June of 2007. Since joining GE, Devon has supported the
GE Renewables and T&D businesses on wind power and smart grid
technology development. Devon has also managed three wind and solar
integration studies with the DOE, Hawaii Natural Energy Institute, and the
Hawaiian Electric Company on the islands of Hawaii, Maui and Oahu.
Jim Roedel (M ’07) received his BA in Marketing from Mesa State College in
1998, and his Masters in Technology Management in 2002. His roles have
included sales, management, training, quality and most recently marketing. He
has been with GE for the past 10 years, and is presently the Senior Product
Manager for Battery Energy Storage Systems for GE Energy’s Transmission
and Distribution business. He is located in Denver, CO.
Paul E. Marken (S’88, M’90, SM’08) graduated from Rose-Hulman Institute
of Technology in 1989 with a Bachelor of Science degree in Electrical
Engineering. In the 20 years Paul has been with General Electric he has held a
wide range of engineering positions including Power Systems Engineer,
Project Engineer, Systems Engineer and Project Manager for a diverse range
of industrial and utility customers. Paul is currently an Application Engineer
and Subject Matter Expert in the FACTS group for GE Energy’s Transmission
and Distribution business and has authored over ten published technical
papers. Paul is a licensed Professional Engineer in the Commonwealth of
Pennsylvania and a Senior Member of the IEEE Power and Energy Society.
Erik Kronbeck received his BSEE from the University of Buffalo and has
been with GE for more than 6 years. He is currently a Systems Engineer in GE
Energy’s T&D business, focusing in the areas of FACTS technology and
series compensation.

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