Overcoming the challenges of integrating variable renewable energy to the grid: A comprehensive review of electrochemical battery storage systems

The increasing penetration of intermittent renewable energy sources such as solar and wind is creating new challenges for the stability and reliability of power systems. Electrochemical battery energy storage systems offer a promising solution to these challenges, as they permit to store excess renewable energy and release it when needed. This paper reviews the integration of battery energy storage systems for increasing the penetration of variable sources into power grids. It highlights the impacts of high penetration of intermittent sources on the power system. The paper provides an overview of battery energy storage systems and their characteristics, applications, and technologies suitable for grid-scale use. The article highlighted that lithium and flow batteries are the most widely used technologies. Battery integration to the power grid has the potential to help achieve a penetration rate of 40–50% of variable renewable energies, as this rate may vary depending on the specific characteristics of each electrical system. The paper also proposes an approach to incentivize the use of BESS to increase the share of variable renewable energies in weakly interconnected power grids such as those in Sub-Saharan Africa.