NREL Confirms Large Potential for Grid Integration of Wind, Solar Power (Fact Sheet) Page: 2 of 2
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The study consisted of three main parts: a wind resource assessment and wind plant
siting study, a transmission study, and a wind integration study. Using a database of
potential wind power sites and detailed, time-dependent estimates of the power
that would be produced at those sites over the course of three years, NREL analysts
examined three scenarios for reaching 20% wind power and one scenario for reaching
30% wind power in the Eastern Interconnect.
After analyzing the resulting data, NREL found that there are no fundamental technical
barriers to the integration of 20% wind energy into the electrical system. However, the
report noted that transmission planning, system operation policy, and market develop-
ment would need to continue to evolve for this penetration level to be achieved.
The EWITS study showed that interconnection-wide costs for integrating large amounts
of wind generation would be modest under a scenario in which operating pools were
coordinated over larger geographic areas.This is because increasing the geographic
diversity of wind power projects in a given operating pool generally makes the aggre-
gated wind power output more predictable and less variable. The study concluded that
wind power could provide a highly cost-effective means of reducing carbon emissions.
The companion study, the "Western Wind and Solar Integration Study"(WWSIS),
looked at adding enough wind and solar power capacity to the grid to produce 35%
of the WestConnect's electricity by 2017. WestConnect is a group of utilities in Arizona,
Colorado, Nevada, New Mexico, and Wyoming that are working to enhance wholesale
electricity markets in the West. The study was undertaken by a team of wind, solar, and
power systems experts across both the private and public sectors. WWSIS simulated
power systems operations in WestConnect and across the West, with an aggregate
wind and solar penetration of 27% across the Western Interconnection. Similar to
EWITS, this study was set up to answer questions that utilities, public utilities commis-
sions, developers, and regional planning organizations had about renewable energy
use in the West. It used detailed, time-dependent models of wind speeds and cloud
cover over the course of three years to estimate the power production from posited
wind and solar plants in the region.
Among other questions, NREL analysts explored the issue of whether geographic
diversity of renewable energy resources in the West would mitigate variability for the
grid.The team also analyzed the role and value of energy storage and evaluated how
reserve requirements could be modified. Given the expanse of the area, NREL staff
weighed the benefits of wind and solar forecasting and how it might help the schedul-
ing of conventional power sources. Because of the abundance of hydropower in the
West, the analysts also considered how hydropower might help with the integration of
renewable energy.
The study showed that it is operationally possible to accommodate 30% wind and 5%
solar energy penetration in the West. To accomplish this, utilities will have to sub-
stantially increase their coordination of operations over wider geographic areas and
schedule their generation deliveries on a more frequent basis than the hourly time-
tables currently in use.
The study also found that if utilities generate 27% of their electricity from wind
and solar energy across the Western Interconnection grid, carbon emissions would
decrease by 25%-45%, depending on the future price of natural gas. Fuel and emis-
sions costs would also decrease by 40%. Finally, WWSIS authors concluded that wind
and solar forecasts are essential for integrating these renewable energy sources into
utility operations in a cost-effective manner.
For more information on these studies, access the systems integration page on the
NREL Web site at www.nrel.gov/wind/systemsintegration/.NREL's System Advisor Model Used
in Study
Analysts for the WWSIS used N REL's System Advisor
Model (SAM) to model hypothetical concentrating
solar power (CSP) plants in the western United States.
This NREL-developed tool was key in evaluating the
technology's contributions to reliability and capacity in
the region.
SAM, which looks at solar power systems from all angles,
can be used to evaluate the levelized cost of energy. It
combines detailed performance modeling, cost data,
and financial models for most solar technologies within
auser-friendly interface.
For the WWSIS, SAM's computer scripting language
allowed it to quickly process data from hundreds of
weather locations to provide a wealth of information to
the study participants. Approximately 200 gigawatts of
CSP plants with thermal energy storage were modeled
in this effort. This information was then combined with
modeled wind production data to carry out the study.
The types of solar power represented in SAM include
such CSP technologies as parabolic troughs, dish-Stirling
systems, and power towers, as well as flat-plate
and concentrating photovoltaic technologies. SAM
incorporates the best available models for analyzing the
impact of changes to the physical system on the overall
economics. But, most importantly, it promotes the use
of a consistent methodology for analysis across all solar
technologies, including financing and cost assumptions.
More than 5,000 users have downloaded the most
recent version, which is available at
https://www.nrel.gov/analysis/sam/.
National Renewable
Energy Laboratory
1617 Cole Boulevard
Golden, Colorado 80401-3305
303-275-3000 " www.nrel.gov
NREL is a national laboratory of the U.S. Department of
Energy, Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy,
operated by the Alliance for Sustainable Energy, [[C.
NREL/FS-6A42-49153 October 2011
Printed with a renewable-source ink on paper containing at
least 5o wastepaper,incuding 10% post consumer waste.
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NREL Confirms Large Potential for Grid Integration of Wind, Solar Power (Fact Sheet), report, October 1, 2011; Golden, Colorado. (https://digital.library.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metadc833081/m1/2/: accessed April 25, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, UNT Digital Library, https://digital.library.unt.edu; crediting UNT Libraries Government Documents Department.