The Case for Coordinated Energy Storage in Future Distribution Grids

The integration of distributed renewable energy sources in urban power systems requires locally tailored approaches. This paper studies the impact of storage penetration and its coordination in three representative urban areas in Amsterdam: a residential, a business and a mixed area. Results show considerable benefits of storage and its coordination in all three areas, assuming a high (50%) penetration of solar panels. Self-consumption of locally generated renewable energy increases from 70% without storage to 80% with individually used storage and to over 90% with coordinated storage. Self-sufficiency increases from 17% without storage to almost 40% with coordinated storage. These results make a case for coordinated use of storage units to support the integration of renewable resources in future distribution grids in a variety of urban areas.