Moving Toward Consensus on a Photovoltaic Generation Capacity Valuation Methodology
Maintaining adequate generating capacity to meet electricity demand at all times is a fundamental principle for the electric utility industry. This is accomplished through a variety of means including providing/purchasing sufficient generation capacity as well as acquiring the associated ancillary services for the electricity grid. The generation capacity of dispatchable resources is assessed based on technology design parameters. While dispatchable resources have some uncertainty in their output due to unforeseen equipment failures, their dispatch is managed around the demand for electricity and their marginal operating costs. Photovoltaic resources are non-dispatchable because their electrical output is based on both technology design parameters (technology selection, installation characteristics, and site conditions) and a solar resource that varies over a range of time periods (seasonal, daily, hourly, second to second). These solar resource variations, however, are not random and there is an intuitively positive relationship between PV system output and summer peak electricity demand for many locations throughout the U.S. This is because system demand peaks for most utilities are driven by heat-wave cooling demand, and because heat waves are indirectly fed by solar gain, i.e., by the fuel for PV generation. Despite this relationship, there is no consensus across the utility or solar industries on a method for calculating PV capacity or its practical use in electricity markets and utility planning. The U.S. Department of Energy’s Solar America Initiative has provided funding to evaluate the variety of photovoltaic capacity valuation methods and to bring the solar industry, electric utility, and research communities together with the goal of moving toward consensus on what is the most appropriate PV generation capacity valuation methodology using a consensus-oriented process. Developing a framework for accurately and appropriately calculating photovoltaic capacity, and determining the risk of variation, will provide a means for utilities and generators to calculate and innovate around the new economic propositions that an industry recognized PV capacity value calculation method would present.
- Research Organization:
- University at Albany, Atmospheric Sciences Research Center
- Sponsoring Organization:
- Golden Field Office; USDOE Office of Solar Energy Technology Program (EE-2A)
- DOE Contract Number:
- FC36-07GO17036
- OSTI ID:
- 948847
- Report Number(s):
- DEFC36-07GO17036-FINAL
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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