Designing solar power purchase agreement of rooftop pvs with battery energy storage systems under the behind-the-meter scheme

Abstract

With a significant growth of rooftop photovoltaic systems (PVs) with battery energy storage systems (BESS) under the behind-the-meter scheme (BTMS), the solar power purchase agreement (SPPA) has been developed into one of the most attractive models. The SPPA is a scheme where the investors propose to directly sell electricity from rooftop PVs to the customers. The proposed rates are typically performed in terms of the discount rates on the time-of-use (TOU) tariff with demand charges. The operation modes of the BESS should also be designed in accordance with the proposed rates. Therefore, this paper proposes a methodology to design the discount rates and operation modes of the BESS which will minimize the electricity charges of the customers while maintaining the revenue of the investors under the SPPA and BTMS. The reverse power flow is considered as additional revenue to the investors. This paper also implements the proposed methodology with tariff structure in Thailand. The result showed that the installed capacity of rooftop PVs and battery capacity directly affect the discount rates and operation modes of the BESS. The rate of excess energy also has a significant impact on the discount rates but not affect the operation modes.