1
Power Flow Solution of Power Networks with
Photovoltaic Generation and a Battery Energy
Storage System
Miguel Angel Vargas
Facultad de Ingeniería Eléctrica
Universidad Michoacana de San Nicolás de Hidalgo
Morelia, Michocán México
mvargas@dep.fie.umich.mx
Abstract—This paper addresses the computation of the power
flow solution of power networks with photovoltaic (PV) gener-
ation and energy storage devices. The PV model implemented
in this work provides the steady state solution taking into
account meteorological conditions. This model is validated with
field measurements recorded at a PV installation consisting
of monocrystalline solar PV panels. A battery storage system
(BESS) based on a lithium-ion battery storage device is used
to balance power generation of the PV renewable source. Fur-
thermore, the power flow analysis is carried out for a 5-node
benchmark power system using PSS/E software package. Results
indicate that the active and reactive power losses can be reduced
approximately to 60% of the base case when a PV system is
connected to the power grid. However, the voltage deviation index
and the loading of the transmission line connected to the point
of common coupling increase up to 60%. In contrast, simulation
results show that the operation of a BESS helps to reduce power
losses and line loading in about 30% and 40%, respectively, while
the voltage deviation increases in only 20% with respect to the
base case.
Index Terms—Photovoltaic generation, power flow analysis,
battery energy storage system.
I. I NTRODUCTION
P HOTOVOLTAICS are rapidly becoming a mature industry
as the performance of photovoltaic system components
and the leverage of large-scale industrial production steadily
decrease costs. The industry has grown from small satellite
power supplies to utility-scale systems that are now routinely
installed in many countries around the world. Nevertheless,
the intermittent nature of alternative energy sources such as
photovoltaic generators has led to the need to integrate energy
storage systems to mitigate such fluctuations. An energy
storage device can draw power from the grid or provide it
back. Scenarios can occur where excess of PV generation is
stored in a backup energy system to later be used in situations
where the PV array is not supplying enough power.
In order to study the impact of photovoltaic installations on
the performance of a power grid, new models and analysis
tools have been proposed in literature. For instance, the work
presented in [1] reports on the assessing of the maximum
possible change in dispersed PV generation that an utility
can expect as the incident solar radiation varies during the
day. Different insolation conditions such as clear-sky and
cloudy-sky are addressed in this study to evaluate the greatest
variations in power generated by the PV system and the worst
978-1-4799-6415-4/14/$31.00 ©2014 IEEE
Norberto García
Facultad de Ingeniería Eléctrica
Universidad Michoacana de San Nicolás de Hidalgo
Morelia, Michocán México
gbarriga@umich.mx
case for the electric utility. An unbalanced three-phase power
flow analysis of a distribution feeder with very high penetra-
tion of PV is reported in [2]. This paper shows that despite
the high penetration scenario, the small increases in network
voltages are unlikely to constrain PV installations in the UK.
In addition, high levels of PV integration may cause small
reductions in network losses and average transformer loadings.
A predictive control system based on Dynamic Programming
is proposed in [3], which is suitable for optimizing the power
flow management of a power grid including a PV system
and energy storage. The management strategy reported in this
work helps to inject the PV output power while shaving peak
loads. In addition it has been observed that the implementation
of the management strategy in real time strongly depends
on the accuracy of the forecast and the mode of operation.
Following on these developments, a globally optimal solution
of a grid-connected microgrid including renewable sources of
energy and a storage device is presented in [4]. The overall
cost of energy at the point of common coupling is minimized
according to the management of the stored energy to balance
the power of loads and renewable sources.
This paper focuses on the study of the impact of PV gener-
ation and an energy storage system on a power network. A 5-
node test system is solved in order to determine power losses,
transmission lines loadings and voltage deviations. Whilst
the PV model incorporates the irradiation and temperature
dependency, the energy storage device is represented as an
ion-lithium battery pack. The power flow solution of the power
network is obtained with the software PSS/E, where the PV
system and the BESS can act as PV or PQ nodes. Simulations
are carried out considering an average day profile.
II. P HOTOVOLTAIC S YSTEM
The PV generator consists of arrays of solar panels con-
nected in series and parallel, a power conditioning unit and a
coupling transformer. The power generated by a photovoltaic
generator mainly depends on the irradiation and temperature.
Fig.1 depicts a grid-connected photovoltaic generator.
Considering that all modules have the same characteristics,
the following relationships can be applied to determine the
characteristic equation of the PV generator [5],
 2

with
∂VocG
∂Tc = ∂VocM
∂Tc · NsM
(8)
∂IscG
∂Tc = ∂IscM
∂Tc · NpM
where Tc is the cell temperature, Tc0 is the cell temperature at
nominal operating conditions, IscGE is the short circuit current
of the generator for given environmental conditions, IscGn is
the generator nominal short circuit current at the maximum
power point and rated operation conditions. In addition, ∂I∂T scM
c
Figure 1. Grid-connected photovoltaic generator ∂IscG
and ∂Tc are the temperature coefficients for the short circuit
current of the module and the generator, while ∂V∂T ocM
c
and
∂VocG
are the temperature coefficients for the open circuit
IscG = IscM NpM ∂Tc
voltage of the module and the generator . VocGE is the open
VocG = VocM NsM
(1) circuit voltage of the generator for a given environmental
NsG = Ns NsM
condition.
NpG = NpM
The cell temperature can be calculated from temperature
where IscG is the short circuit current of the PV, IscM is measurements and the nominal operating cell temperature
the short circuit current of the module, NpM is the number (NOCT), which is provided by the manufacturer of the mod-
of modules in parallel, VocG is the open circuit voltage of ule. Thus, the cell temperature is given by,
the PV generator, VocM is the open circuit voltage of the
module,NsM is the number of modules in series, NsG is N OCT − 20
Tc = Ta + G (9)
number of photovoltaic cells in a string and Ns is the number 800
of cells in a module. The PV generator is modelled with the where G is the irradiance and T a is the ambient temperature.
following expresion,
 V +I R 
G G sG B. Power conditioning unit
IG = IscG − NpG Io e nNsG VT − 1 (2)
The power conditioning unit (PCU) unit allows interfacing
where NpG is the number of strings connected in parallel for the PV array with the power grid. As it can be seen in
the PV generator. The current Io is determined by solving Eq. Fig. 1, the PCU consists of a maximum power point tracker
(2) for the open-circuit conditions, I G = 0 and VG = 0. Then (MPPT) and an inverter. While the MPPT ensures that the PV
(2) takes the form, array delivers the maximum power to the inverter, the voltage
inverter ties the CD output of the MPPT with the AC utility
IscG
Io =  VG +IG RsG
 (3) grid. By applying an iterative technique reported in [6] to Eq.
NpG e nNsG VT
−1 (2), the V-I characteristic curve of the PV array is obtained.
Then, the maximum DC output power of the PV array P M P P T
Generator series resistance RsG is defined as is defined as the maximum element of a power vector, which
is computed by multiplying V and I.
VocG PnG Regarding the modelling of the voltage inverter, its effi-
RsG = − 2 (4)
IscG F F0 IscG ciency η is considered constant. Then, the output power of
with the inverter is determined as,

F F0 = voc −ln(v oc +0.72)
1+voc PP V −IN V = ηPM P P T (10)
(5)
voc = NsG nVT
VocG

where F F0 is the fill factor of the generator and voc is the III. BATTERY ENERGY STORAGE SYSTEM
normalized open circuit voltage. Battery energy storage systems (BESS) have been used for
decades in power systems. Their stored energy is controlled
A. Temperature dependence to balance power generation of renewable sources and to
The generator V-I characteristic varies with the change of optimize overall power consumption. Further, energy storage
solar irradiation and temperature. The short circuit current and systems can smooth the fluctuations of renewable sources.
the open circuit voltage of the PV generator are defined as In [7], a simple model for electric vehicles using lithium-
follows [5], ion batteries suitable for load flow studies is developed. The
  elapsed time it takes the battery to be fully charged is related
IscGn ∂IscG
IscGE = + (Tc − Tc0 ) (6) to its initial status. The charging and discharging process are
1000 ∂Tc modelled as follows [7],
   
∂VocG kTck IscGE
VocGE = VocGn +
∂Tc
(Tc − Tc0 ) +
q
ln
IscGn
(7) Pcharge (t) = Pmax (1 − e−αt/tmax ) + P0 (11)
 3

Begin
Pdischarge (t) = P0 (1 − e−αt/tmax ) (12)
Set System Parameters
where Pmax is the maximum capacity of the BESS, P0 is
the initial power stored in the battery, tmax is the maximum Set t 0
Set t BESS
charging time and α is a constant parameter. Assuming that a Set t max

full discharged battery absorbs 90% of its maximum capacity Read irradiance and
P max in approximately one-third of the maximum charging temperature data

time tmax , the parameter α takes the value of α = 6.9. Compute PPV OUT output power
Eq.(18)
The model of the inverter for BESS aplications considers a
no yes
constant value for the inverter efficiency. Therefore, the output Compute QPV  LIMIT PQ node for Compute QPV OUT from
power of the BESS is, from Eq. (19) PV device Eq. (18)

PBESS−IN V = ηPcharge−discharge (13) t t  't no yes

PBESS 0 t ! t BESS

IV. L OAD M ODELLING no yes

Compute PBESS from Charging Compute PBESS from
In order to improve the modelling of loads within the power Eq. (12) Mode? Eq. (11)

network and permit their variation during one day simulation

study, the loads of the system are scaled according to a typical
24-hours load profile. The measured load profile data is hourly no yes
Compute Q BESS , LIMIT PQ node for Compute QBESS OUT
and was provided by the power system operator. The load from Eq. (21) BESS device? from Eq. (20)

data has been fit in this work with the aid of a polynomial

representation. The 6th-order polynomial used in this work is Scale loads according to
the load profile
defined as, representation Eq.(14)

L = −2.8218 · 10−7 t6 + 19.18 · 10−6 t5 − 47.13 · 10−5 t4 Power flow analysis

Eqs. (15) and (16)
+48.293 · 10−4 t3 − 152.002 · 10−4 t2 − 13.908 · 10−3 t (14)
+0.79144 no
t ! t max
where t is the time in hours. Expression (14) is used to yes

represent a scaled model of each load of the power system. End

V. P OWER F LOW A NALYSIS Figure 2. Flowchart of power flow analysis with PV and BESS devices.
The well known power flow formulation, in terms of real
and imaginary components, is defined as [8],

n PP V −OU T = P F · PP V −IN V
Pp = |Ep Ep Ypq |cos(θpq + δp − δq ) (18)
(15) QP V −OU T = sin(cos−1 (P F )) · PP V −IN V
q=1
In case the PV generator acts as a PV node, it is necesary

n
to calculte the reactive power limit by selecting a minimum
Qp = |Ep Eq Ypq |sin(θpq + δp − δq ) (16)
q=1
power factor (P F min ). Then QP V −LIM IT is calculated as,

for p = 1, 2, ...n − 1, and n is the number of buses. This

formulation results in a set of nonlinear equations, which are
solved using the Newton-Raphson method. The resulting set
of linear equations has the following matrix form,
    
ΔP J1 J2 ΔV
= (17)
ΔQ J3 J4 Δθ
where J1 , J2 , J3 and J4 are the elements of the Jacobian,
whilst ΔV and Δθ are the changes of bus voltages [8].
The PV generator is incorporated to the power flow analysis
as a PQ source [6]. Once the PV output has been determined
for a given enviromental condition, a power factor (P F ) is
assumed for the voltage inverter. The active and reactive power
exchange with the utility grid is defined as,
QP V −LIM IT = sin(cos−1 (P Fmin )) · PP V −IN V (19)
Similarly, the BESS is incorporated into the power flow
solution by computing P BESS−OU T and QBESS−OU T when
the BESS acts as a PQ node. Both values are calculated as,
PBESS−OU T = P F · PBESS−IN V
(20)
QBESS−OU T = sin(cos−1 (P F )) · PBESS−IN V
When the BESS acts as a PV node, the value of
QBESS−LIM IT is determined by the power flow analysis
using the following reactive power limit,
QBESS−LIM IT = sin(cos−1 (P Fmin )) · PBESS−IN V (21)
The power flow analysis presented in this work is carried

out using the software PSS/E. This simulation package uses
a fully coupled Newton-Raphson iterative algorithm. Fig. 2
shows the flowchart of the procedure implemented in this
work for the incorporation of PV generators and BESS to
the power flow solution. As it can be appreciated, system
parameters and control variables are initialized at the begining
of the procedure. Next, the PV and BESS output power are
computed at time t. Loads of the power network are modified
for the 24 hours simulation according to a load profile defined
with a polinomial representation. The new values of active
and reactive powers from PV, BESS and loads are used in the
power flow analysis. This process is repeated till the maximum
simulation time tmax is reached.
VI. T EST CASE
In this section, modelled results are compared with actual
power measured every 10 minutes. In addition, the effects of
temperature and irradiation on the operation of an embedded
PV generator in a power network are analyzed. Fig. 3 depicts
a 5-node power network [8] with a PV generator and a BESS.
It can be observed that both, the PV generator and the BESS
are located at node 5.
In order to evaluate the impact of the operation of a PV
generator, an experiment is developed in this section for the
following scenarios:
• Base case .- The 5-node power network is solved without
PV generation. The load profile is modeled by hourly
steps according to the average day load behavior de-
scribed in section IV.
• Case A .- A 60 MW PV generator is located at node 5.
The PV system is solved in PSS/E as a PQ node with a
unity power factor.
• Case B .- A battery energy storage system based in a ion-
lithium battery pack is located at node 5. It has a rated
capacity of 30 MW, which represents the 50% of the
capacity of the PV generator. The initial state of charge
of the battery is 0%. It is switched on at 11:40 hours and
demands its charging power. At 19:00 hours the BESS
discharges.
A. Validation of photovoltaic generator model
The PV generator model and the measured data of an actual
grid-connected PV installation are compared in this section.
Figure 3. Single-line diagram of the power system
4
Table I
M ODEL PARAMETERS FOR THE PV GENERATOR
I scM = 8.45 A N sM = 14
VocM = 37.1 V N pG = 298
∂IscM
∂T = 0.0294 %/°K NOCT = 49 °C
∂VocM
= −0.387 %/°K Tc0 = 25 °C
∂T
N s = 60
In addition, the effects of temperature and irradiance on the
performance of the PV station are reported. Model parameters
of the PV generator are listed in Table 1
Figure 4(a) shows the irradiance and ambient temperature
data for a 1 MW PV installation located at Santa Rosalia,
Mexico, which has a latitude angle of 270 20 20 N. The
profile reported in this figure corresponds to a typical clear
sky day in summer. As it can be seen, a peak irradiation
of 1.049 KW/m2 is observed at 12:30 local time. At that
moment, the ambient temperature reaches 32o C. Furthermore,
the measured power is 866.94 KW, the simulated power is
874.21 KW and the relative error of the output power is 0.83%
(See Fig. 4(b)). From 7:00 to 18:00 the relative error of the
output power is below 10%, while the maximum relative error
occurs at 19:30. The measured output power is greater than
the simulated output power from 17:00 to 20:00. In general,
the simulated output power compares well with the measured
data.
B. Power flow solution with photovoltaic generation
Fig. 5 shows simulation results obtained for the 5-node
system for the base case, case A and case B. The steady state
solution was computed every 10 minutes for a period of one
day. Active and reactive power losses are depicted in Figures
5(a) and 5(b), where it can be seen that both power losses show
a decrement from 7:00 to 20:00 hours. It can be seen that the
power losses are reduced in 60% at 12:30 hours, thanks to
the peak output power generated by the PV generator. Fig.
5(c) and 5(d) show the voltage deviation index (VDI) and the
line loading due to the change of the output power of the PV
generator. The VDI shows a rise of aproximately 80% due to
the installation of a PV generator. The VDI is computed as
follows [9]
(a) (b)
Figure 4. Comparison between PV model and measured data: a) One day
irradiation and temperature data for Santa Rosalía and b) comparison of PV
power output.
 5

Table II the output power generated by the PV installation decays. Fig.

R ATED CAPACITY OF TRANSMISSION LINES 5 shows the steady-state solution of the power network, the
Line Capacity MVA Line Capacity MVA PV generator an the BESS for a 24-hour simulation.
As can be seen, during the charging mode the power losses
1-2 120 2-5 70
were higher than for case A. In contrast, during the discharging
1-3 60 3-4 35
mode the power losses were lower than for case A. Although
2-3 45 4-5 10
the power losses at morning hours were in line with those of
2-4 45
case A, a difference was noted for late afternoon hours when
power losses reached their peak values. Peak power losses
were reduced for case B compared to case A. Regarding the

n
(Vi − VN i )
2 voltage deviation index, Fig. 5(c) indicates that its peak value
V DI = (22) was lower than case A, and very similar to the base case.
i=1
VN2 i
On the other hand, results reported in Fig. 5(d) for case B
where Vi is the voltage at node i, n the number of nodes of shows that the operation of the BESS avoided exceeding the
the system and V N i is the nominal voltage at node i. rated loading of the transmission line connected from node 4
From Fig. 5(d), it can be seen that line loading from node to node 5.
4 to 5 shows a reduction from 7:00 to 8:00 and 18:20 to
20:05 hours. From 9:00 to 18:20 hours, the line loading is VII. C ONCLUSION
considerably increased, reaching almost 105%. In order to A power flow analysis of power networks containing PV
determine the line loading, it was assumed a rated capacity fo generators and BESS has ben presented in this work. A 5-
each transmission line within the 5-node power network. The node power network has ben used to evaluate power losses,
values used in this work are listed in Table 2. Furthermore, voltage deviation index and transmission line loadings. Results
non of the transmition lines experience reverse power flow. obtained for the test case based on the operation of a PV gener-
ator and a BESS indicated that the above mentioned indicators
C. Power flow solution including a BESS were lower. These findings confirm the benefits gained from
the use of an storage device to attenuate fluctuations associated
In order to evaluate how the BESS may help to maintain to a higly variable PV power source.
constant the system voltage and to reduce power losses and
line loadings, the BESS is operated to act as a load to absorb Acknowlegment
the surplus active power. Additionally, the BESS is used to The autors would like to thank the “Gerencia de Proyectos
inject active power in order to improve the power balance once Geotermoeléctricos” of the “Comisión Federal de Electrici-
dad” (CFE) of Mexico for access to measured data of the
Santa Rosalía PV installation.
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(c) (d)
Figure 5. Comparison results for the base case, case A and case B: a) .-
active power losses, b).- reactive power losses, c).- voltage deviation index
and d) line 4 to 5 loading percentage.