A changing perspective on the impact and capabilities of renewable resources on power systems

摘要

Much of the North American experience with the operation of renewable generation technologies started with the use of small wind farms that were located in very limited geographic areas and used basic turbines technologies. In addition, many of the renewable generators that went into service did not have the contractual obligations or financial incentives and were not under the necessary operational oversight to ensure that their operation would contribute to the reliability and efficiency of the power system within which they operated. As the financial and policy incentives for the operation of the renewable generators changed, so did the attitude of the renewable generation industry regarding the reliability and efficiency of system operation. On the business side, these changes drove massive changes in the implementation of variable generation plants leading to significantly larger renewable generation plants that are spread over wider geographic areas making the total output from all such plants to be less dependent on local weather events. Furthermore, considerable diversity was introduced in renewable generation technologies, and particularly the known complementary wind and solar generation output have made it possible to have largely steady output from renewable sources. Finally, advances in variable generation technologies, themselves, allowed these generators to provide many, if not all, of the capabilities needed for the reliability of power system operation. This presentation focuses on the aforementioned changing landscape in renewable generation technologies.