Reserve Requirement Impacts of Large-Scale Integration of Wind, Solar, and Ocean Wave Power Generation

TLDR

Renewable sources such as solar, wind, and ocean wave provide fuel‑free, emission‑free power but their variability can challenge grid reserve requirements, especially at high penetration levels. The study analyzes how the variability of utility load, wind, solar, and wave generation interact. The authors model the interaction of load, wind, solar, and wave variability to assess reserve impacts. A diversified variable renewable mix can reduce reserve requirements and mitigate variability effects.

Abstract

Many sources of renewable energy, including solar, wind, and ocean wave, offer significant advantages such as no fuel costs and no emissions from generation. However, in most cases these renewable power sources are variable and nondispatchable. The utility grid is already able to accommodate the variability of the load and some additional variability introduced by sources such as wind. However, at high penetration levels, the variability of renewable power sources can severely impact the utility reserve requirements. This paper presents an analysis of the interaction between the variability characteristics of the utility load, wind power generation, solar power generation, and ocean wave power generation. The results show that a diversified variable renewable energy mix can reduce the utility reserve requirement and help reduce the effects of variability.