Survey of Strategies to Optimize Battery Operation to Minimize the Electricity Cost in a Microgrid with Renewable Energy Sources and Electric Vehicles

There is a rapid increase in the utilization of renewable sources such as solar and wind to provide power and electricity. The reason for this trend is to reduce costs and preserve the environment. However, the challenge is to efficiently use and store the energy from these sources. One approach is to optimize the decision when to charge or discharge a battery. The objective is to generate the greatest monetary gain. More charge/discharge cycles will reduce the life of a battery, thereby increasing the cost. A strategy to reduce the number of charge cycles while maintaining the effectiveness of electricity distribution from battery storage will improve battery life. With the inevitable proliferation of electric vehicles (EVs) in the market, strategies specific to electric vehicle battery profitability will be explored. An additional concern which threatens the financial feasibility of battery energy storage systems (BESSs) is the requirement of secure operation. There is currently little research study on strategies to detect cyberattacks on such systems. In this paper, we have presented a novel taxonomy for battery optimization, survey representative BESS utilization strategies, and classify these schemes within the taxonomy. Within our classification, we outline the battery optimization methods that have been discussed, analyze their ability to address issues that arise when implementing a BESS, and describe alternative research that could be explored. Future research could refer to this information to create unique battery optimization schemes to provide more efficiency and optimal revenue for a BESS when compared to current strategies.