Battery Lifetime Extension in a Stand-Alone Microgrid With Flexible Power Point Tracking of Photovoltaic System

In stand-alone dc microgrids (dcMGs), battery energy storage systems (BESSs) are conventionally used for regulating the dc-link voltage, causing a continuous battery operation. Though operating the photovoltaic (PV) system at its maximum power point (MPP) yields minimum battery discharge current, the opposite is true for battery charging current. Therefore, reducing the battery charging current based on its state-of-charge (SoC) and the amount of available PV surplus power (which can be treated as virtually stored energy) is an opportunity for improving the battery life. The main objective of the control strategy proposed in this article is to prolong the battery lifetime by reducing the charging current and keeping the battery SoC at lower values if the PV power is enough to supply the loads. Additionally, the PV system is used as the primary asset to regulate the microgrid voltage. The dynamic performance of the proposed control strategy is validated with experimental tests under various operating conditions. Furthermore, its effectiveness in prolonging the battery lifetime is evaluated using an aging model of a lithium-ion (Li-ion) battery (without loss of generality) by simulated case studies.