Battery energy storage systems (ESS, or SdA), featuring high response speed, modularity and flexibility of use, could contribute to the provision of dispatching services, not only in stand-alone configuration, but also in support of Non-Programmable Renewable Sources (FERNP) plants or conventional plants. This report presents a technical and economic analysis of SdAs in terms of how, and with what profitability, they could provide one or more dispatching services and also additional functions to support FERNP plants. In most cases, the analyses refer to the Italian energy system and market; however, some of the lessons learned can be generalized; it also collects useful information on different European countries through a survey among ISGAN partners.
The services or functionalities considered in the simulations include primary, secondary and tertiary frequency regulation, the provision of rapid frequency regulation, the reduction of imbalances in a FERNP system. The article also examines the revenue stacking deriving from the provision of a set of services/functionalities and the impact on battery cycling due to aging: for example, investing in an LotR to provide one or more services could be considered profitable if the PayBack Period (PBP) is less than not only a number of years acceptable to the owner of the LotR/BSP, but also the estimated useful life of the battery. According to this criterion, it can be observed for example that, in Italy, secondary frequency regulation, tertiary reserve and balancing can be considered potentially profitable. However, more in-depth analyses of possible bidding strategies are needed, since the acceptance of bids for these services on the services market does not only depend on the order of economic merit.