IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/appene/v262y2020ics0306261920300040.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Understanding the impact of non-synchronous wind and solar generation on grid stability and identifying mitigation pathways

Author

Listed:
  • Johnson, Samuel C.
  • Rhodes, Joshua D.
  • Webber, Michael E.

Abstract

High penetrations of non-synchronous renewable energy generation can decrease overall grid stability because these units do not provide rotational inertia in the same way as traditional synchronously-connected generators. Many recent studies have investigated 100% renewable energy generation scenarios, but few have explored the trade-offs associated with an electricity grid dominated by non-synchronous generation (i.e. wind and solar). Fast frequency response from grid-forming inverters—along with other technology changes—could help mitigate low system inertia levels, but the impact of this response is unknown. An inertia-constrained unit commitment and dispatch model was used to study the stability of future grid scenarios with high penetrations of non-synchronous renewable energy generation under a variety of technology scenarios. The Texas grid (the Electric Reliability Council of Texas – ERCOT) was used as a test case and instances when the system inertia fell below 100 GW·s (the grid’s current minimum level) were recorded. When the modeled critical inertia limit was reduced to 80 GW·s to represent changes in grid operation, no critical inertia hours occurred for renewable energy penetrations up to 93% of annual energy. The critical inertia limit could drop to 60 GW·s if the largest generators in ERCOT (two co-located nuclear plants) were retired, but emissions increased by ~25% in these scenarios. If the critical inertia limit was kept the same (100 GW·s), adding 525 MW of fast frequency response from wind, solar, and energy storage could reduce the number of critical inertia hours by up to 95%. These results show that changes to grid operating practices and generator retirements reduced critical inertia hours more than fast frequency response from inverter-connected resources. Each of these mitigation pathways has associated trade-offs, so the transition to a grid dominated by non-synchronous energy generation should be handled with care, but high renewable energy penetrations (i.e. >80%) might be feasible in Texas.

Suggested Citation

  • Johnson, Samuel C. & Rhodes, Joshua D. & Webber, Michael E., 2020. "Understanding the impact of non-synchronous wind and solar generation on grid stability and identifying mitigation pathways," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 262(C).
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:appene:v:262:y:2020:i:c:s0306261920300040
    DOI: 10.1016/j.apenergy.2020.114492
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0306261920300040
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.apenergy.2020.114492?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Heard, B.P. & Brook, B.W. & Wigley, T.M.L. & Bradshaw, C.J.A., 2017. "Burden of proof: A comprehensive review of the feasibility of 100% renewable-electricity systems," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 76(C), pages 1122-1133.
    2. Teng, Fei & Mu, Yunfei & Jia, Hongjie & Wu, Jianzhong & Zeng, Pingliang & Strbac, Goran, 2017. "Challenges on primary frequency control and potential solution from EVs in the future GB electricity system," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 194(C), pages 353-362.
    3. Nahid-Al-Masood, & Yan, Ruifeng & Saha, Tapan Kumar, 2015. "A new tool to estimate maximum wind power penetration level: In perspective of frequency response adequacy," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 154(C), pages 209-220.
    4. Johnson, Samuel C. & Papageorgiou, Dimitri J. & Mallapragada, Dharik S. & Deetjen, Thomas A. & Rhodes, Joshua D. & Webber, Michael E., 2019. "Evaluating rotational inertia as a component of grid reliability with high penetrations of variable renewable energy," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 180(C), pages 258-271.
    5. Tielens, Pieter & Van Hertem, Dirk, 2016. "The relevance of inertia in power systems," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 55(C), pages 999-1009.
    6. Elliston, Ben & Diesendorf, Mark & MacGill, Iain, 2012. "Simulations of scenarios with 100% renewable electricity in the Australian National Electricity Market," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 45(C), pages 606-613.
    7. Connolly, D. & Lund, H. & Mathiesen, B.V. & Leahy, M., 2011. "The first step towards a 100% renewable energy-system for Ireland," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 88(2), pages 502-507, February.
    8. Kubik, M.L. & Coker, P.J. & Barlow, J.F., 2015. "Increasing thermal plant flexibility in a high renewables power system," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 154(C), pages 102-111.
    9. Felipe Pérez-Illanes & Eduardo Álvarez-Miranda & Claudia Rahmann & Camilo Campos-Valdés, 2016. "Robust Unit Commitment Including Frequency Stability Constraints," Energies, MDPI, vol. 9(11), pages 1-16, November.
    10. Yu, H.Y. & Bansal, R.C. & Dong, Z.Y., 2014. "Fast computation of the maximum wind penetration based on frequency response in small isolated power systems," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 113(C), pages 648-659.
    11. Lund, H. & Mathiesen, B.V., 2009. "Energy system analysis of 100% renewable energy systems—The case of Denmark in years 2030 and 2050," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 34(5), pages 524-531.
    12. Denholm, Paul & Hand, Maureen, 2011. "Grid flexibility and storage required to achieve very high penetration of variable renewable electricity," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 39(3), pages 1817-1830, March.
    13. Pavić, Ivan & Capuder, Tomislav & Kuzle, Igor, 2016. "Low carbon technologies as providers of operational flexibility in future power systems," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 168(C), pages 724-738.
    14. Liu, Hui & Huang, Kai & Wang, Ni & Qi, Junjian & Wu, Qiuwei & Ma, Shicong & Li, Canbing, 2019. "Optimal dispatch for participation of electric vehicles in frequency regulation based on area control error and area regulation requirement," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 240(C), pages 46-55.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Rhys Jacob & Ming Liu, 2022. "Design and Evaluation of a High Temperature Phase Change Material Carnot Battery," Energies, MDPI, vol. 16(1), pages 1-15, December.
    2. Li, Zhihao & Yang, Lun & Xu, Yinliang, 2023. "A dynamics-constrained method for distributed frequency regulation in low-inertia power systems," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 344(C).
    3. Pampa Sinha & Kaushik Paul & Sanchari Deb & Sulabh Sachan, 2023. "Comprehensive Review Based on the Impact of Integrating Electric Vehicle and Renewable Energy Sources to the Grid," Energies, MDPI, vol. 16(6), pages 1-39, March.
    4. Homan, Samuel & Mac Dowell, Niall & Brown, Solomon, 2021. "Grid frequency volatility in future low inertia scenarios: Challenges and mitigation options," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 290(C).
    5. María Teresa Villén & Maria Paz Comech & Eduardo Martinez Carrasco & Aníbal Antonio Prada Hurtado, 2022. "Influence of Negative Sequence Injection Strategies on Faulted Phase Selector Performance," Energies, MDPI, vol. 15(16), pages 1-19, August.
    6. Groissböck, Markus & Gusmão, Alexandre, 2020. "Impact of renewable resource quality on security of supply with high shares of renewable energies," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 277(C).
    7. Yang, Zhiwei & Khatri, Dishant & Verma, Piyush & Li, Tianxiang & Adeosun, Adewale & Kumfer, Benjamin M. & Axelbaum, Richard L., 2021. "Experimental study and demonstration of pilot-scale, dry feed, oxy-coal combustion under pressure," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 285(C).
    8. Cheng, Yi & Azizipanah-Abarghooee, Rasoul & Azizi, Sadegh & Ding, Lei & Terzija, Vladimir, 2020. "Smart frequency control in low inertia energy systems based on frequency response techniques: A review," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 279(C).
    9. Yohan Jang & Zhuoya Sun & Sanghyuk Ji & Chaeeun Lee & Daeung Jeong & Seunghoon Choung & Sungwoo Bae, 2021. "Grid-Connected Inverter for a PV-Powered Electric Vehicle Charging Station to Enhance the Stability of a Microgrid," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(24), pages 1-16, December.
    10. Ren, Haoshan & Sun, Yongjun & Albdoor, Ahmed K. & Tyagi, V.V. & Pandey, A.K. & Ma, Zhenjun, 2021. "Improving energy flexibility of a net-zero energy house using a solar-assisted air conditioning system with thermal energy storage and demand-side management," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 285(C).
    11. Norouzi, Farshid & Hoppe, Thomas & Elizondo, Laura Ramirez & Bauer, Pavol, 2022. "A review of socio-technical barriers to Smart Microgrid development," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 167(C).
    12. Clift, Dean Holland & Stanley, Cameron & Hasan, Kazi N. & Rosengarten, Gary, 2023. "Assessment of advanced demand response value streams for water heaters in renewable-rich electricity markets," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 267(C).
    13. Garcet, J. & De Meulenaere, R. & Blondeau, J., 2022. "Enabling flexible CHP operation for grid support by exploiting the DHN thermal inertia," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 316(C).
    14. Ashish Shrestha & Francisco Gonzalez-Longatt, 2021. "Frequency Stability Issues and Research Opportunities in Converter Dominated Power System," Energies, MDPI, vol. 14(14), pages 1-28, July.
    15. Ali Jawad Alrubaie & Mohamed Salem & Khalid Yahya & Mahmoud Mohamed & Mohamad Kamarol, 2023. "A Comprehensive Review of Electric Vehicle Charging Stations with Solar Photovoltaic System Considering Market, Technical Requirements, Network Implications, and Future Challenges," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(10), pages 1-26, May.
    16. Tina, Giuseppe Marco & Aneli, Stefano & Gagliano, Antonio, 2022. "Technical and economic analysis of the provision of ancillary services through the flexibility of HVAC system in shopping centers," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 258(C).
    17. Bonilla, Javier & Blanco, Julian & Zarza, Eduardo & Alarcón-Padilla, Diego C., 2022. "Feasibility and practical limits of full decarbonization of the electricity market with renewable energy: Application to the Spanish power sector," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 239(PE).
    18. Mahmoud Elshenawy & Ashraf Fahmy & Adel Elsamahy & Shaimaa A. Kandil & Helmy M. El Zoghby, 2022. "Optimal Power Management of Interconnected Microgrids Using Virtual Inertia Control Technique," Energies, MDPI, vol. 15(19), pages 1-30, September.
    19. Makolo, Peter & Zamora, Ramon & Lie, Tek-Tjing, 2021. "The role of inertia for grid flexibility under high penetration of variable renewables - A review of challenges and solutions," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 147(C).
    20. Mohamed Hadri & Vincenzo Trovato & Agnes Bialecki & Bruno Merk & Aiden Peakman, 2021. "Assessment of High-Electrification UK Scenarios with Varying Levels of Nuclear Power and Associated Post-Fault Behaviour," Energies, MDPI, vol. 14(6), pages 1-23, March.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Elliston, Ben & MacGill, Iain & Diesendorf, Mark, 2013. "Least cost 100% renewable electricity scenarios in the Australian National Electricity Market," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 59(C), pages 270-282.
    2. Victoria, Marta & Gallego-Castillo, Cristobal, 2019. "Hourly-resolution analysis of electricity decarbonization in Spain (2017–2030)," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 233, pages 674-690.
    3. Hansen, Kenneth & Breyer, Christian & Lund, Henrik, 2019. "Status and perspectives on 100% renewable energy systems," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 175(C), pages 471-480.
    4. Diesendorf, Mark & Elliston, Ben, 2018. "The feasibility of 100% renewable electricity systems: A response to critics," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 93(C), pages 318-330.
    5. Blanco, Herib & Faaij, André, 2018. "A review at the role of storage in energy systems with a focus on Power to Gas and long-term storage," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 81(P1), pages 1049-1086.
    6. Makolo, Peter & Zamora, Ramon & Lie, Tek-Tjing, 2021. "The role of inertia for grid flexibility under high penetration of variable renewables - A review of challenges and solutions," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 147(C).
    7. Vaiaso, T.V. Jr. & Jack, M.W., 2021. "Quantifying the trade-off between percentage of renewable supply and affordability in Pacific island countries: Case study of Samoa," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 150(C).
    8. Guerra, K. & Haro, P. & Gutiérrez, R.E. & Gómez-Barea, A., 2022. "Facing the high share of variable renewable energy in the power system: Flexibility and stability requirements," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 310(C).
    9. Maruf, Md. Nasimul Islam, 2021. "Open model-based analysis of a 100% renewable and sector-coupled energy system–The case of Germany in 2050," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 288(C).
    10. Fernandes, Liliana & Ferreira, Paula, 2014. "Renewable energy scenarios in the Portuguese electricity system," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 69(C), pages 51-57.
    11. Raza, Muhammad Amir & Khatri, Krishan Lal & Hussain, Arslan, 2022. "Transition from fossilized to defossilized energy system in Pakistan," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 190(C), pages 19-29.
    12. Kiwan, Suhil & Al-Gharibeh, Elyasa, 2020. "Jordan toward a 100% renewable electricity system," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 147(P1), pages 423-436.
    13. Wu, Yunyang & Reedman, Luke J. & Barrett, Mark A. & Spataru, Catalina, 2018. "Comparison of CST with different hours of storage in the Australian National Electricity Market," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 122(C), pages 487-496.
    14. Heard, B.P. & Brook, B.W. & Wigley, T.M.L. & Bradshaw, C.J.A., 2017. "Burden of proof: A comprehensive review of the feasibility of 100% renewable-electricity systems," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 76(C), pages 1122-1133.
    15. Gorman, Will & Mills, Andrew & Wiser, Ryan, 2019. "Improving estimates of transmission capital costs for utility-scale wind and solar projects to inform renewable energy policy," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 135(C).
    16. Wogrin, S. & Tejada-Arango, D. & Delikaraoglou, S. & Botterud, A., 2020. "Assessing the impact of inertia and reactive power constraints in generation expansion planning," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 280(C).
    17. Turner, Graham M. & Elliston, Ben & Diesendorf, Mark, 2013. "Impacts on the biophysical economy and environment of a transition to 100% renewable electricity in Australia," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 54(C), pages 288-299.
    18. Hrnčić, Boris & Pfeifer, Antun & Jurić, Filip & Duić, Neven & Ivanović, Vladan & Vušanović, Igor, 2021. "Different investment dynamics in energy transition towards a 100% renewable energy system," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 237(C).
    19. Ćosić, Boris & Krajačić, Goran & Duić, Neven, 2012. "A 100% renewable energy system in the year 2050: The case of Macedonia," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 48(1), pages 80-87.
    20. Jacobson, Mark Z. & Delucchi, Mark A. & Cameron, Mary A. & Mathiesen, Brian V., 2018. "Matching demand with supply at low cost in 139 countries among 20 world regions with 100% intermittent wind, water, and sunlight (WWS) for all purposes," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 123(C), pages 236-248.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:eee:appene:v:262:y:2020:i:c:s0306261920300040. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Catherine Liu (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.elsevier.com/wps/find/journaldescription.cws_home/405891/description#description .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.