Wind power capacity credit evaluation using analytical methods

Abstract

Wind power is the most mature green energy source in electric power systems and is now a booming worldwide industry. The use of wind power is growing rapidly throughout the world to reduce environmental degradation. Due to global environmental concerns and public awareness, many power utilities around the world are considering wind energy as a substitute for conventional generation. Many governments already have energy plans and policies in place to ensure significant increase in power generation using wind energy within designated time periods. The wind is variable, site specific and is an intermittent source of energy. It is therefore a complex task to analyze generating system capacity adequacy considering wind energy. The growing application of wind power dictates the need to develop methods to evaluate the system reliability and the capacity value of wind power. Wind is generally considered to be a source of energy, rather than a power source. It is equally important however, to consider the capacity credit of wind power as its penetration increases in electric power systems. It is very important for both electric power utilities and wind power developers to accurately assess wind capacity credit and therefore it is necessary to study and develop different methodologies for performing this task. The research presented in this thesis examines a range of methods used for the evaluation of wind capacity credit using data from four wind sites in Saskatchewan. The techniques, methods and results presented in this thesis should prove to be valuable for system planners assessing generating capacity adequacy evaluation incorporating wind energy.