Integrating Wind Power: Can Controllable Load Substitute for Transmission Upgrades?

The Cornell SuperOPF is used to illustrate how the system costs can be determined for a reliable network (the amount of conventional generating capacity needed to maintain System Adequacy is determined endogenously). Eight cases are studied to illustrate the effects of geographical distribution, ramping costs and load response to customers payment in the wholesale market, and the amount of potential wind generation that is dispatched. The proposed regulatory changes for electricity markets are 1) to establish a new market for ramping services, 2) to aggregate the loads of customers on a distribution network so that they can be represented as a single wholesale customer on the bulk-power transmission network and 3) to make use of controllable load to mitigate the variability of wind generation as an alternative to upgrading the capacity of the transmission network. The cost of ramping reduces the amount of potential wind generation that is dispatched because of the inherent variability of wind speeds. The analysis evaluates whether the ability to dispatch some load that is not time-sensitive, such as charging the batteries in electric vehicles over night above the minimum usage requirement, can be an effective way to use more of the potential wind generation without upgrading the transfer capacity of a transmission network. The expectation is that more wind generation can be dispatched at times when load is relatively low and congestion on the network is not a major limitation.