Generating capacity adequacy associated with wind energy

The wind is a highly variable energy source and behaves far differently than conventional energy sources. This paper presents a methodology for capacity adequacy evaluation of power systems including wind energy. The results and discussions on two representative systems containing both conventional generation units and wind energy conversion systems (WECS) are presented. A Monte Carlo simulation approach is used to conduct the analysis. The hourly wind speeds are simulated using an autoregressive moving average time-series model. A wide range of studies were conducted on two different sized reliability test systems. The studies show that the contribution of a WECS to the reliability performance of a generation system can be quantified and is highly dependent on the wind site conditions. A WECS can make a significant reliability contribution given a reasonably high wind speed. Wind energy independence also has a significant positive impact on the reliability contribution of multiple WECS.

I. Introduction

Utilization of renewable energy, such as that provided by the wind, for electric power generation is being given serious consideration around the world due to the global environmental concerns associated with conventional energy sources. Many people consider the wind to be a promising and encouraging alternative for power generation because of its tremendous environmental and social benefits, together with public support and government incentives. Fig. 1. Overall system configuration.