Western Wind and Solar Integration Study

Conference · Sat Jan 01 04:00:00 EST 2011

OSTI ID:1046882

Lew, D; Piwko, R; Jordan, G; Miller, N; Clark, K; Freeman, L; Milligan, M

The Western Wind and Solar Integration Study (WWSIS) is one of the largest regional wind and solar integration studies to date. It was initiated in 2007 to examine the operational impact of up to 35% energy penetration of wind, photovoltaics (PV), and concentrating solar power (CSP) on the power system operated by the WestConnect group of utilities in Arizona, Colorado, Nevada, New Mexico, and Wyoming (see study area map). WestConnect also includes utilities in California, but these were not included because California had already completed a renewable energy integration study for the state. This study was set up to answer questions that utilities, public utilities commissions, developers, and regional planning organizations had about renewable energy use in the west: (1) Does geographic diversity of renewable energy resource help mitigate variability; (2) How do local resources compare to out-of-state resources; (3) Can balancing area cooperation help mitigate variability; (4) What is the role and value of energy storage; (5) Should reserve requirements be modified; (6) What is the benefit of forecasting; and (7) How can hydropower help with integration of renewables? The Western Wind and Solar Integration Study is sponsored by the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) and run by NREL with WestConnect as a partner organization. The study follows DOE's 20% Wind Energy by 2030 report, which did not find any technical barriers to reaching 20% wind energy in the continental United States by 2030. This study and its partner study, the Eastern Wind Integration and Transmission Study, performed a more in-depth operating impact analysis to see if 20% wind energy was feasible from an operational level. In DOE/NREL's analysis, the 20% wind energy target required 25% wind energy in the western interconnection; therefore, this study considered 20% and 30% wind energy to bracket the DOE analysis. Additionally, since solar is rapidly growing in the west, 5% solar was also considered in this study. The goal of the Western Wind and Solar Integration Study is to understand the costs and operating impacts due to the variability and uncertainty of wind, PV, and CSP on the grid. This is mainly an operations study, (rather than a transmission study), although different scenarios model different transmission build-outs to deliver power. Using a detailed power system production simulation model, the study identifies operational impacts and challenges of wind energy penetration up to 30% of annual electricity consumption.

• Research Organization: National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), Golden, CO.
• Sponsoring Organization: USDOE Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy Wind and Water Power Program
• DOE Contract Number: AC36-08GO28308
• OSTI ID: 1046882
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

14 SOLAR ENERGY
17 WIND ENERGY
24 POWER TRANSMISSION AND DISTRIBUTION
32 ENERGY CONSERVATION, CONSUMPTION, AND UTILIZATION
ELECTRICITY
ENERGY STORAGE
FORECASTING
INTEGRATED ENERGY UTILITY SYSTEMS
PLANNING
POWER SYSTEMS
POWER TRANSMISSION
PRODUCTION
PUBLIC UTILITIES
SIMULATION
SOLAR ENERGY
Solar Energy - General
TARGETS
WIND POWER
WIND POWER PLANTS
Wind Energy