Techno-Economic Analysis of Redox-Flow and Lithium-Iron-Phosphate Battery Storages at Different Imbalance Settlement Intervals

Abstract

The proliferation of renewable energy sources has presented challenges for Balancing Responsible Parties (BRPs) in accurately forecasting production and consumption. This issue is being addressed through the emergence of the balancing markets, which aims to maintain real-time equilibrium between production and consumption across various imbalance settlement intervals. This study conducted a techno-economic analysis of Lithium-Iron-Phosphate (LFP) and Redox-Flow Batteries (RFB) utilized in grid balancing management, with a focus on a 100 MW threshold deviation in 1 min, 5 min, and 15 min settlement intervals. Imbalance data, encompassing both imbalance volumes and prices, sourced from the Belgian Transmission System Operator (TSO)—Elia—over a three-year period from September 2019 to September 2022, formed the basis of this investigation. The analysis underscored the significant influence of factors, such as imbalance volume, price dynamics, and market settlement intervals on the technical and financial feasibility of Battery Energy Storage Systems (BESSs) within the context of balancing management. Notably, the technical and economic results of LFP and RFB exhibited comparable tendencies across the different market settlement intervals, providing valuable insights into potential developments about how trends will evolve in other settlement intervals.