Use of photovoltaic energy storage systems in buildings and other applications

Abstract

This paper illustrates the use of storage systems with stand-alone photovoltaic systems to be used in buildings of Malta for integration of electricity and energy saving and special applications in other areas. The present energy situation suggests that the future of the domestic and industrial photovoltaic systems will include storage systems, to improve resource management of feeding renewable energy into the national grid, and increase reliability at the generation site. The paper develops around the initial stages of photovoltaic integration into the grid, when the possibility of auto consumption or net-metering was used. However, increased penetration of photovoltaic systems could now reduce the existing network load, while still not solving the main limitation of renewable sources, which is the intermittent nature of the production. Especially photovoltaics, but not only, the limitations of PV electrical generation is also subject to a certain cyclical production be it daily or seasonal, and a certain amount of “unpredictability of production”. Such issues have a solution through energy storage. The production of electricity for other special applications would include on-site production of energy for stand-alone systems.