Smart Energy Storage Systems for Solar PV Applications: A Review

Abstract

: Smart energy storage systems are becoming an important essential for solar Photovoltaic (PV) applications because used to convert variable solar generation into controllable, reliable, and higher-value electricity. This review highlights smart PV-storage systems from the comprehensive viewpoints such as system architecture, storage technology, power electronics, battery and energy management, protection, forecasting, microgrid operation, techno-economic optimization, and sustainability. Firstly, this paper reveals that storage performance depends not only on battery capacity but also on accurate PV-resource assessment, load profiling, converter design, state-of-charge and state-of-health estimation, dispatch strategy, communication reliability, safety design, and lifecycle management. Lithium-ion batteries, lead-acid batteries, flow batteries, supercapacitors, and hybrid storage are used for comparison at off-grid, grid-connected, mini-grid, building, and electric-mobility applications. Secondly, the survey discloses that smart control can improve self-consumption, reduce peak demand, support frequency and voltage regulation, increase resilience, and reduce curtailment. However, poor sizing, weak data, high capital cost, thermal risk, degradation, limited maintenance capacity, and unclear end-of-life management remain major barriers. The article concludes that PV-storage projects should include forecasting, digital monitoring, safe battery management, economic planning, clear techno-economic analysis, and locally validated design data for the future.