Evaluating the Capabilities of Behind-the-Meter Solar-plus-Storage for Providing Backup Power during Long-Duration Power Interruptions

Abstract

The study estimates the performance of behind-the-meter solar PV-plus-energy-storage-systems (PVESS) in providing critical-load or whole-building backup across a wide range of geographies, building types, and power interruption conditions. The study also considers a set of 10 historical long-duration power outage events and evaluates how PVESS could have performed in providing backup power during those specific events. The analysis is the first in what will be a series of studies by Berkeley Lab, in collaboration with the National Renewable Energy Laboratory, on the use of PVESS for backup power. This initial study is intended to provide a baseline set of performance estimates and to illustrate key performance drivers. This narrative summary provides a high-level overview of the analysis approach, key findings, and opportunities for future work. For further details, please refer to the full report.

Keywords

Identifiers

DOI

10.2172/1888245

Journal

Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory

Year

2022