Peak shaving benefit assessment considering the joint operation of nuclear and battery energy storage power stations: Hainan case study

The rapid development of battery energy storage technology provides a potential way to solve the grid stability problem caused by the large-scale construction of nuclear power. Based on the case of Hainan, this study analyses the economic feasibility for the joint operation of battery energy storage and nuclear power for peak shaving, and provides an effective solution framework for construction scale and battery type determination. Under the proposed framework, a novel cost model for the large-scale battery energy storage power station is proposed. Then, economic analysis is conducted to get the most economical battery type and construction scale by considering the comprehensive economic benefit of the joint operation under the limit of the load factor. On this basis, sensitivity analysis of economic indicators to control parameters and economic parameters is performed to further demonstrate the economic feasibility of the joint operation. Comparative analysis shows that 270 MW lithium iron phosphate battery energy storage power station has the best and stable comprehensive performance in terms of the IRR, PBP and LCOE, which are 16.27%, 6.27 year and 0.464¥/kWh, respectively. In comparison with the pumped storage, the battery energy storage has lower initial investment, faster capital recovery and smaller floor area under the joint operation mode. Moreover, sensitivity analysis illustrates that the large-scale application of battery energy storage still depends on the trade-off between the cost performance of battery and the real-time electricity price.