Transmission Planning with the Needed Reserves for Supporting Wind Generation.

Abstract

Transmission expansion planning is fundamental for the economical and safe operation of power systems in the long run. Wind generation present some special features, such as the variability and intermittent availability of the wind resource, which may affect either short-term or long-term coordination of power markets. When considering wind power generation, an additional reserve is required for the secure market operation due to the variability introduced by wind energy. Only marginal units, ramp-rate constrained units, or reserve-providing units will likely be partially dispatched. Thus, the output of conventional generators can be potentially increased without changing the system marginal prices. Consequently, variations in wind output can often be compensated for by adjusting the outputs of the partially dispatched conventional generators. However there is an opportunity cost associated to having those generators standing by to back up wind generation. We propose a methodology for long-term power transmission expansion planning that incorporates the costs associated to the operation of wind power plants.