Statistical Characterization of Solar Photovoltaic Power Variability at Small Timescales: Preprint
Integrating large amounts of variable and uncertain solar photovoltaic power into the electricity grid is a growing concern for power system operators in a number of different regions. Power system operators typically accommodate variability, whether from load, wind, or solar, by carrying reserves that can quickly change their output to match the changes in the solar resource. At timescales in the seconds-to-minutes range, this is known as regulation reserve. Previous studies have shown that increasing the geographic diversity of solar resources can reduce the short term-variability of the power output. As the price of solar has decreased, the emergence of very large PV plants (greater than 10 MW) has become more common. These plants present an interesting case because they are large enough to exhibit some spatial smoothing by themselves. This work examines the variability of solar PV output among different arrays in a large ({approx}50 MW) PV plant in the western United States, including the correlation in power output changes between different arrays, as well as the aggregated plant output, at timescales ranging from one second to five minutes.
- Research Organization:
- National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), Golden, CO.
- Sponsoring Organization:
- USDOE Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy Solar Energy Technologies Program
- DOE Contract Number:
- AC36-08GO28308
- OSTI ID:
- 1050765
- Report Number(s):
- NREL/CP-5500-56165
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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Related Subjects
24 POWER TRANSMISSION AND DISTRIBUTION
AUGMENTATION
CORRELATIONS
ELECTRICITY
Electricity, Resources, and Buildings Systems
GRIDS
MEETINGS
NATIONAL RENEWABLE ENERGY LABORATORY
NREL
PHOTOVOLTAIC POWER GENERATION
PHOTOVOLTAIC POWER PLANTS
POWER SYSTEM OPERATION
POWER SYSTEMS
PRICES
PRODUCTION
RESERVES
RESOURCES
STOCHASTIC PROCESSES
Solar Energy - Photovoltaics
VARIATIONS