Battery Energy Storage Systems: Enabling Ukraine’s Grid Flexibility and Energy Security Through Ancillary Services

This study investigates the utilization of energy storage facilities in the Ukrainian power system, focusing on their capabilities in the ancillary services market. The authors present the outcomes of a modeling approach that simulates the operation of a hypothetical energy storage facility using real historical data. Specifically, the study examines the provision of frequency support reserve as an ancillary service. The authors highlight the advantages of energy storage systems, which can fulfill various roles in different segments of the electricity market, leading to integrated benefits and return on investment. They propose a modified management strategy for maintaining an optimal average charge level. Additionally, a method for evaluating the impact of charge and discharge cycles on the degradation of energy storage facilities is employed. The simulation results demonstrate the performance of the modeled energy storage facility under current regulatory standards for frequency deviation. Two control strategies are compared in terms of their ability to provide asymmetric frequency maintenance reserve service. The results encompass various parameters, such as the percentage of battery inactivity time due to charge (0% or 100%), the number of hours of battery inactivity due to charge (0 or 100%), the estimated number of charge/discharge cycles, income from participation in the distributed generation market (in EUR), and the overall modelled degradation percentage. The model was adapted, and calculations were performed for the European market, yielding valuable insights and results for the application of energy storage facilities in the European context. Currently, Ukraine only has one certified industrial-scale energy storage facility, which is located in a temporarily occupied territory due to a full-scale invasion. The modeling results offer insights into the potential of energy storage facilities and their investment attractiveness. The modeling outcomes provide an assessment of the feasibility of utilizing energy storage facilities for offering frequency regulation services in the Ukrainian power system.