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At least 253 records · Page 14

Data-Driven Stochastic Transmission Expansion Planning

Due to the significant improvements of power generation technologies and the trend of replacing traditional power plants with renewable generation resources, the generation portfolio will experience dramatic changes in the near future. The uncertainty and variability of renewable energy and their sitting call for strategic and economic plans for expanding the transmission capacities. In this study, we develop a data-driven two-stage stochastic transmission expansion planning with uncertainties. In the proposed approach, purely by learning from the historical data, we first construct a confidence set for the unknown distribution of the uncertain parameters. Then, we develop a two-stage data-driven transmission expansion framework, by considering the worst-case distribution within the constructed confidence set, so as to provide a reliable while economic transmission planning decision. Furthermore, to tackle the model complexity, we propose a decomposition framework embedded with Benders' and Column-and-Constraint generation methods. We implement our approach on 6-bus and 118-bus systems to test its effectiveness. Finally, we show as the amount of historical data grows, the conservativeness of the model decreases.

24 POWER TRANSMISSION AND DISTRIBUTION↗

Renewable Electricity Futures Study., Volume 2: Renewable Electricity Generation and Storage Technologies

The Renewable Electricity Futures (RE Futures) Study investigated the challenges and impacts of achieving very high renewable electricity generation levels in the contiguous United States by 2050. The analysis focused on the sufficiency of the geographically diverse U.S. renewable resources to meet electricity demand over future decades, the hourly operational characteristics of the U.S. gridwith high levels of variable wind and solar generation, and the potential implications of deploying high levels of renewables in the future. RE Futures focused on technical aspects of high penetration of renewable electricity; it did not focus on how to achieve such a future through policy or other measures. Given the inherent uncertainties involved with analyzing alternative long-term energyfutures as well as the multiple pathways that might be taken to achieve higher levels of renewable electricity supply, RE Futures explored a range of scenarios to investigate and compare the impacts of renewable electricity penetration levels (30%-90%), future technology performance improvements, potential constraints to renewable electricity development, and future electricity demand growthassumptions. RE Futures was led by the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT).

24 POWER TRANSMISSION AND DISTRIBUTION↗

Renewable Electricity Futures Study, Volume 3: End-Use Electricity Demand

The Renewable Electricity Futures (RE Futures) Study investigated the challenges and impacts of achieving very high renewable electricity generation levels in the contiguous United States by 2050. The analysis focused on the sufficiency of the geographically diverse U.S. renewable resources to meet electricity demand over future decades, the hourly operational characteristics of the U.S. gridwith high levels of variable wind and solar generation, and the potential implications of deploying high levels of renewables in the future. RE Futures focused on technical aspects of high penetration of renewable electricity; it did not focus on how to achieve such a future through policy or other measures. Given the inherent uncertainties involved with analyzing alternative long-term energyfutures as well as the multiple pathways that might be taken to achieve higher levels of renewable electricity supply, RE Futures explored a range of scenarios to investigate and compare the impacts of renewable electricity penetration levels (30%-90%), future technology performance improvements, potential constraints to renewable electricity development, and future electricity demand growthassumptions. RE Futures was led by the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT).

24 POWER TRANSMISSION AND DISTRIBUTION↗

Renewable Electricity Futures Study, Volume 4: Bulk Electric Power Systems: Operations and Transmission Planning

The Renewable Electricity Futures (RE Futures) Study investigated the challenges and impacts of achieving very high renewable electricity generation levels in the contiguous United States by 2050. The analysis focused on the sufficiency of the geographically diverse U.S. renewable resources to meet electricity demand over future decades, the hourly operational characteristics of the U.S. gridwith high levels of variable wind and solar generation, and the potential implications of deploying high levels of renewables in the future. RE Futures focused on technical aspects of high penetration of renewable electricity; it did not focus on how to achieve such a future through policy or other measures. Given the inherent uncertainties involved with analyzing alternative long-term energyfutures as well as the multiple pathways that might be taken to achieve higher levels of renewable electricity supply, RE Futures explored a range of scenarios to investigate and compare the impacts of renewable electricity penetration levels (30%-90%), future technology performance improvements, potential constraints to renewable electricity development, and future electricity demand growthassumptions. RE Futures was led by the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT).

24 POWER TRANSMISSION AND DISTRIBUTION↗

Eastern Frequency Response Study

This study was specifically designed to investigate the frequency response of the Eastern Interconnection that results from large loss-of-generation events of the type targeted by the North American Electric Reliability Corp. Standard BAL-003 Frequency Response and Frequency Bias Setting (NERC 2012a), under possible future system conditions with high levels of wind generation.

24 POWER TRANSMISSION AND DISTRIBUTION↗

Renewable Electricity Futures Study. Volume 1: Exploration of High-Penetration Renewable Electricity Futures

The Renewable Electricity Futures (RE Futures) Study investigated the challenges and impacts of achieving very high renewable electricity generation levels in the contiguous United States by 2050. The analysis focused on the sufficiency of the geographically diverse U.S. renewable resources to meet electricity demand over future decades, the hourly operational characteristics of the U.S. grid with high levels of variable wind and solar generation, and the potential implications of deploying high levels of renewables in the future. RE Futures focused on technical aspects of high penetration of renewable electricity; it did not focus on how to achieve such a future through policy or other measures. Given the inherent uncertainties involved with analyzing alternative long-term energy futures as well as the multiple pathways that might be taken to achieve higher levels of renewable electricity supply, RE Futures explored a range of scenarios to investigate and compare the impacts of renewable electricity penetration levels (30%-90%), future technology performance improvements, potential constraints to renewable electricity development, and future electricity demand growth assumptions. RE Futures was led by the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT).

24 POWER TRANSMISSION AND DISTRIBUTION↗

Renewable Electricity Futures Study (Executive Summary)

The Renewable Electricity Futures (RE Futures) Study investigated the challenges and impacts of achieving very high renewable electricity generation levels in the contiguous United States by 2050. The analysis focused on the sufficiency of the geographically diverse U.S. renewable resources to meet electricity demand over future decades, the hourly operational characteristics of the U.S. grid with high levels of variable wind and solar generation, and the potential implications of deploying high levels of renewables in the future. RE Futures focused on technical aspects of high penetration of renewable electricity; it did not focus on how to achieve such a future through policy or other measures. Given the inherent uncertainties involved with analyzing alternative long-term energy futures as well as the multiple pathways that might be taken to achieve higher levels of renewable electricity supply, RE Futures explored a range of scenarios to investigate and compare the impacts of renewable electricity penetration levels (30%-90%), future technology performance improvements, potential constraints to renewable electricity development, and future electricity demand growth assumptions. RE Futures was led by the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT).

14 SOLAR ENERGY↗

Renewable Electricity Futures Study - Volume 1: Exploration of High-Penetration Renewable Electricity Futures

The Renewable Electricity Futures (RE Futures) Study investigated the challenges and impacts of achieving very high renewable electricity generation levels in the contiguous United States by 2050. The analysis focused on the sufficiency of the geographically diverse U.S. renewable resources to meet electricity demand over future decades, the hourly operational characteristics of the U.S. grid with high levels of variable wind and solar generation, and the potential implications of deploying high levels of renewables in the future. RE Futures focused on technical aspects of high penetration of renewable electricity; it did not focus on how to achieve such a future through policy or other measures. Given the inherent uncertainties involved with analyzing alternative long-term energy futures as well as the multiple pathways that might be taken to achieve higher levels of renewable electricity supply, RE Futures explored a range of scenarios to investigate and compare the impacts of renewable electricity penetration levels (30%–90%), future technology performance improvements, potential constraints to renewable electricity development, and future electricity demand growth assumptions. RE Futures was led by the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). Learn more at the RE Futures website. http://www.nrel.gov/analysis/re_futures/

29 ENERGY PLANNING, POLICY, AND ECONOMY↗

Renewable Electricity Futures Study - Volume 2: Renewable Electricity Generation and Storage Technologies

The Renewable Electricity Futures (RE Futures) Study investigated the challenges and impacts of achieving very high renewable electricity generation levels in the contiguous United States by 2050. The analysis focused on the sufficiency of the geographically diverse U.S. renewable resources to meet electricity demand over future decades, the hourly operational characteristics of the U.S. grid with high levels of variable wind and solar generation, and the potential implications of deploying high levels of renewables in the future. RE Futures focused on technical aspects of high penetration of renewable electricity; it did not focus on how to achieve such a future through policy or other measures. Given the inherent uncertainties involved with analyzing alternative long-term energy futures as well as the multiple pathways that might be taken to achieve higher levels of renewable electricity supply, RE Futures explored a range of scenarios to investigate and compare the impacts of renewable electricity penetration levels (30%–90%), future technology performance improvements, potential constraints to renewable electricity development, and future electricity demand growth assumptions. RE Futures was led by the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). Learn more at the RE Futures website. http://www.nrel.gov/analysis/re_futures/

25 ENERGY STORAGE↗

Renewable Electricity Futures Study - Volume 3: End-Use Electricity Demand

The Renewable Electricity Futures (RE Futures) Study investigated the challenges and impacts of achieving very high renewable electricity generation levels in the contiguous United States by 2050. The analysis focused on the sufficiency of the geographically diverse U.S. renewable resources to meet electricity demand over future decades, the hourly operational characteristics of the U.S. grid with high levels of variable wind and solar generation, and the potential implications of deploying high levels of renewables in the future. RE Futures focused on technical aspects of high penetration of renewable electricity; it did not focus on how to achieve such a future through policy or other measures. Given the inherent uncertainties involved with analyzing alternative long-term energy futures as well as the multiple pathways that might be taken to achieve higher levels of renewable electricity supply, RE Futures explored a range of scenarios to investigate and compare the impacts of renewable electricity penetration levels (30%–90%), future technology performance improvements, potential constraints to renewable electricity development, and future electricity demand growth assumptions. RE Futures was led by the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). Learn more at the RE Futures website. http://www.nrel.gov/analysis/re_futures/

24 POWER TRANSMISSION AND DISTRIBUTION↗

Renewable Electricity Futures Study - Volume 4: Bulk Electric Power Systems. Operations and Transmission Planning

The Renewable Electricity Futures (RE Futures) Study investigated the challenges and impacts of achieving very high renewable electricity generation levels in the contiguous United States by 2050. The analysis focused on the sufficiency of the geographically diverse U.S. renewable resources to meet electricity demand over future decades, the hourly operational characteristics of the U.S. grid with high levels of variable wind and solar generation, and the potential implications of deploying high levels of renewables in the future. RE Futures focused on technical aspects of high penetration of renewable electricity; it did not focus on how to achieve such a future through policy or other measures. Given the inherent uncertainties involved with analyzing alternative long-term energy futures as well as the multiple pathways that might be taken to achieve higher levels of renewable electricity supply, RE Futures explored a range of scenarios to investigate and compare the impacts of renewable electricity penetration levels (30%–90%), future technology performance improvements, potential constraints to renewable electricity development, and future electricity demand growth assumptions. RE Futures was led by the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). Learn more at the RE Futures website. http://www.nrel.gov/analysis/re_futures/

24 POWER TRANSMISSION AND DISTRIBUTION↗

Energy Storage Sizing Taking Into Account Forecast Uncertainties and Receding Horizon Operation

Energy storage systems (ESS) have the potential to be very beneficial for applications such as reducing the ramping of generators, peak shaving, and balancing not only the variability introduced by renewable energy sources, but also the uncertainty introduced by errors in their forecasts. Optimal usage of storage may result in reduced generation costs and an increased use of renewable energy. However, optimally sizing these devices is a challenging problem. This paper aims to provide the tools to optimally size an ESS under the assumption that it will be operated under a model predictive control scheme and that the forecast of the renewable energy resources include prediction errors. A two-stage stochastic model predictive control is formulated and solved, where the optimal usage of the storage is simultaneously determined along with the optimal generation outputs and size of the storage. Wind forecast errors are taken into account in the optimization problem via probabilistic constraints for which an analytical form is derived. This allows for the stochastic optimization problem to be solved directly, without using sampling-based approaches, and sizing the storage to account not only for a wide range of potential scenarios, but also for a wide range of potential forecast errors. In the proposed formulation, we account for the fact that errors in the forecast affect how the device is operated later in the horizon and that a receding horizon scheme is used in operation to optimally use the available storage.

25 ENERGY STORAGE↗

The Dominant Influencer of Voltage Fluctuation (DIVF) for Power Distribution System

Variability in power generation at multiple consumer owned renewable energy sources can cause random voltage fluctuations, which may result in voltage violations at multiple nodes in a power distribution system. Traditional methods of voltage control are ineffective to address fast voltage variations. New dynamic methods of voltage control using end user devices can significantly benefit from the knowledge of the dominant influencer of voltage fluctuation (DIVF). This paper introduces information theoretic metrics to identify DIVF for every node in the power distribution system. A node can be DIVF due to its location in the distribution system and its capacity to generate and change its power. Use of traditional power flow algorithms to identify the DIVF is computationally complex which limits their use in real-time applications. In this work, information theoretic indicators of the DIVF are computed analytically in a computationally efficient manner, and their effectiveness to identify the DIVF is tested using the IEEE 69 node test system. From simulations, it is illustrated that differential entropy, Kullback-Leibler distance and Frechet distance are effective indicators of the DIVF and can successfully identify the most influential nodes providing the foundation for intelligent voltage control.

24 POWER TRANSMISSION AND DISTRIBUTION↗

Ancillary Service Revenue Potential for Geothermal Generators in California

Achieving California’s 33% renewable generation goal will substantially increase uncertainty and variability in grid operations. Geothermal power plant operators could mitigate this variability and uncertainty by operating plants in a more flexible mode. Plant operators would be compensated for flexibility through payments for ancillary services such as frequency regulation, load following, and spinning reserve. This study explores economic incentives for geothermal plant operators to provide such flexibility. Historical and forecast ancillary service prices are compared to operator compensation for energy under firm contracts at fixed prices, which are higher than current or year 2020 projected market clearing prices for ancillary services in most hours of the year. Power purchase agreements recently executed by geothermal operators typically provide only energy payments at fixed energy prices and escalation rates. We postulate new contract structures that would allow a geothermal plant operator to switch from providing energy to providing ancillary services to the grid operator when it is advantageous to the plant operator to do so. Additional revenues would be earned through ancillary service payments. Estimates of these additional annual revenues a plant operator could realize are developed for a range of contract energy prices. The impacts of flexible operations on reservoir lifetimes and implications for project finance are also discussed.

15 GEOTHERMAL ENERGY↗

Ancillary Service Revenue Potential for Geothermal Generators in California FY15 Final Report

Achieving California’s 33% renewable generation goal will substantially increase uncertainty and variability in grid operations. Geothermal power plant operators could mitigate this variability and uncertainty by operating plants in a more flexible mode. Plant operators would be compensated for flexibility through payments for ancillary services such as frequency regulation, load following, and spinning reserve. This study explores economic incentives for geothermal plant operators to provide such flexibility. Historical and forecast ancillary service prices are compared to operator compensation for energy under firm contracts at fixed prices, which are higher than current or year 2020 projected market clearing prices for ancillary services in most hours of the year. Power purchase agreements recently executed by geothermal operators typically provide only energy payments at fixed energy prices and escalation rates. We postulate new contract structures that would allow a geothermal plant operator to switch from providing energy to providing ancillary services to the grid operator when it is advantageous to the plant operator to do so. Additional revenues would be earned through ancillary service payments. Estimates of these additional annual revenues a plant operator could realize are developed for a range of contract energy prices. The impacts of flexible operations on reservoir lifetimes and implications for project finance are also discussed.

15 GEOTHERMAL ENERGY↗

Beneficial Integration of Energy Storage and Load Management with Photovoltaic (PV)

In recent years, a number of industry activities have aimed at addressing the integration challenges posed by the variability and uncertainty of higher penetration of renewable generation sources, like solar photovoltaic (PV) – one of the key objectives of the Sustainable and Holistic Integration of Energy Storage and Solar PV (SHINES) program launched by the U.S. Department of Energy's Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE). This EPRI led Beneficial Integration of Energy Storge, and Load Management with PV project aimed to design, develop, and demonstrate end-to-end distributed energy resource (DER) integration solution to build on these activities. EPRI led project team designed and implemented a local controller that uses model predictive control (MPC) algorithm to optimally manage DERs on site by planning for a receding horizon while executing the control settings for the first step of its plan. The team has also developed a system controller to interface with the local controller to demonstrate the hierarchical control and how it can leverage DER capabilities to address challenges like over voltage and thermal limit violations which typically limits the DER hosting capacity of distribution feeders. Team has demonstrated how the local controller with optimization algorithm can effectively manage controllable loads like HVAC, water heater, and pool pumps to allow for greater integration of PV with relatively smaller energy storage system requirements. Optimal utilization of the load control can also reduce the depth of discharge of batteries to meet grid export/import limit from behind-the-meter (BTM) DERs. Proper utilization of DER capabilities via local control intelligence, like the one developed and demonstrated in this project can help the industry to address integration challenges of higher penetration of solar PV in economically efficient manner. This can help to accelerate deployment of clean renewable energy systems at lower societal cost.

14 SOLAR ENERGY↗

Wholesale electricity market design with increasing levels of renewable generation: Revenue sufficiency and long-term reliability

This paper discusses challenges that relate to assessing and properly incentivizing the resources necessary to ensure a reliable electricity system with growing penetrations of variable generation (VG). The output of VG (primarily wind and solar generation) varies over time and cannot be predicted precisely. Therefore, the energy from VG is not always guaranteed to be available at times when it is most needed. This means that its contribution towards resource adequacy can be significantly less than the contribution from traditional resources. Variable renewable resources also have near-zero variable costs, and with production-based subsidies they may even have negative offer costs. Because variable costs drive the spot price of energy, this can lead to reduced prices, sales, and therefore revenue for all resources within the energy market. The characteristics of VG can also result in increased price volatility as well as the need for more flexibility in the resource fleet in order to maintain system reliability. Furthermore, we explore both traditional and evolving electricity market designs in the United States that aim to ensure resource adequacy and sufficient revenues to recover costs when those resources are needed for long-term reliability. We also investigate how reliability needs may be evolving and discuss how VG may affect future electricity market designs.

17 WIND ENERGY↗

Variable-Speed Wind Power Plant Operating With Reserve Power Capability: Preprint

As the level of wind penetration increases, wind turbine technology must move from merely generating power from wind to taking a role in supporting the bulk power system. Wind turbines should have the capability to provide inertial response and primary frequency (governor) response. Wind turbine generators with this capability can support the frequency stability of the grid. To provide governorresponse, wind turbines should be able to generate less power than the available wind power and hold the rest in reserves, ready to be accessed as needed. In this paper, we explore several ways to control wind turbine output to enable reserve-holding capability. The focus of this paper is on doubly-fed induction generator (also known as Type 3) and full-converter (also known as Type 4) windturbines.

17 WIND ENERGY↗