The New York State Energy Research and Development Authority and the New York Independent System Operator have financed a study by GE Energy’s power systems energy consulting group of New York state's power grid, the first of two to assess the impact of wind generation on the system as a precursor to the building of a large number of wind facilities. Currently, there is 50 MW of installed wind capacity in the state, located in central and western regions.
It concludes that the grid would be able to handle up to 3300 MW of power from utility-scale wind farms without significant adverse impacts on the planning, operations and reliability of the bulk power system, ‘provided that appropriate wind farm requirements and operations practices are adopted when needed’. But it says that New York must update its capacity credit processes, a critical issue for the economic feasibility of wind projects.
GE is assessing how wind generation at varying capacities and locations might impact system reliability, transmission planning and power market administration, and in particular how power plants could compensate for the supply fluctuations characteristic of wind energy. One concern is how wind energy can be reconciled with the requirement that utilities must have a set percentage of reserve power. GE will then recommend improvements to the system necessary for future wind development. After a second more detailed phase a final report will be prepared for end-2004.
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