Impact of large-scale wind and solar power integration on operating reserve requirements of an islanded power system

Abstract

Many nations have shown their support to a battle against environmental pollution by integrating large scale solar and wind energy resources, to their respective grids. Although these commendable efforts have paved the way for a greener future, it has to be noted that non-conventional renewable energy (NCRE) possess their own inherent drawbacks. Their availability is highly dependent on the prevalent weather conditions, which means that they are subjected to uncontrollable variability. With the rise of intermittent renewable resources, it is important to have appropriate amounts of operating reserves to provide backup to the system. This will ensure that the system will be stable under variable power conditions and thus, improve the reliability of the system. This paper is focused in quantifying additional operating reserves requirements to stabilize the system under intermittent conditions with the large penetration of renewables into an islanded power system. It assesses the spinning reserve requirement during the high wind and low wind seasons.