Elaboration of the Operating Strategy of an on-grid Battery Energy Storage System in Dominica

Dominica is an island in the Caribbean archipelago with a population of 74,000. It’s energy production is today largely dependent on fossil fuels. The Government of Dominica has decided to shift its energy mix, with the target of reaching 100% of its energy produced from renewable sources by 2030. To do so, a solar PV plant is intended to be commissioned, as well as a geothermal power plant. In anticipation of these future developments, which will have an impact on the management of its electricity grid, a Battery Energy Storage System (“BESS”) is to be installed in the coming year.

The Independent Regulatory Commission (IRC), via the French Development Agency (AFD), has requested the support of a Consultant to help with the identification of the optimal use of this storage system and prepare all teams to its operation. Phoenix was selected alongside the engineering firm Artelia

As a first step, the team was tasked with helping the IRC define the optimal use of the storage system. Two operating modes of the storage system were defined and assessed:

i. the BESS provides power reserve, thereby reducing the supply of reserve from the diesel generators and thus optimizing the fuel consumption of these generation sources;

ii. the BESS limits the use of peak diesel units, by charging the storage with base load generation (during low demand) and discharging during peak load periods (high demand).

Artelia and Phoenix, in doing so, developed an operational tool that allows the teams to determine the preferred use of the BESS on a daily basis. Once delivered, all teams from DOMLEC, the electricity operator, the Dominica Geothermal Development Company, and the IRC were trained to its use during 3 training sessions.

We thank the teams for their strong involvement and wish them a successful transition.