Investigating Flexible Generation at The Geysers

摘要

As California advances towards achieving its goal of increased use of renewable energy, it is recognized that the state's electric grid is changing as a substantial amount of new, non-baseload renewable resources such as solar and wind come on line. The ability of the grid to adjust to these intermittent sources is limited during the periods when the production of solar energy is the highest or when the peak wind energy is produced. Because of this grid limitation, flexibility is needed from other generation sources on the grid during certain hours of the day. The California Independent System Operator (CAISO) maintains reliability and access to the grid. The CAISO has illustrated future predicted grid conditions on a typical spring day in its "duck chart", shown in Figure 1.