The carbon footprint of island grids with lithium-ion battery systems: An analysis based on levelized emissions of energy supply

Electrical energy storage systems are key to the integration of intermittent renewable energy technologies such as photovoltaic solar systems and wind turbines. As installed battery energy storage system capacities rise, it is crucial that the environmental impacts of these systems are also positive. In this work, a methodology to ascertain the effect and effectiveness of integration of energy storage on the carbon footprint of isolated island grid energy systems and its reduction is presented. Two metrics are introduced - the Levelized Emissions of Energy Supply (LEES), and the reduction in emissions per additional unit of energy storage (R). The proposed methodology is applied to an island grid scenario to ascertain the variation in the LEES value with the peak power and energy storage capacity of the BESS. A simplified LCA of a utility-scale Lithium-ion BESS is also carried out for this purpose. It is found that for the considered scenarios, incorporation of battery systems is always effective in reducing emissions, with a maximum possible reduction of nearly 50% compared to no storage. With the help of the metric R, the proposed methodology is also useful in identifying isolated energy systems which should be prioritized for incorporation of additional energy storage capacity.

Automated summary

Electrical energy storage systems are crucial for integrating intermittent renewable energy technologies and reducing emissions. This study provides a methodology to assess the impact of energy storage integration on carbon footprints of isolated island grid energy systems, with a maximum potential reduction of nearly 50% in emissions. The proposed methodology can help identify isolated energy systems that should prioritize the incorporation of additional energy storage capacity.