Will Wind Power Make the Grid Less Reliable?

[kristopher]

Will Wind Power Make the Grid Less Reliable?

by Carl Levesque, American Wind Energy Association

Q: My question is about the grid and wind power. If we were to add wind power into the generation mix, would the grid still be as reliable as it is today? -- Alan T., Portland, Maine

A: It's human nature to make assumptions based on everyday experience: from personal experience, for example, most of us know that the wind isn't blowing all the time, at least in most places with which we're familiar. But science and reality, we also know, often have a way of overruling our assumptions.

Nevertheless, some ask, can wind power, being a variable resource-meaning it generates electricity when the wind is blowing-be relied upon as a significant part of a system that provides reliable electricity to consumers without interruption. In fact, based on a growing body of analytical and operational experience, the answer is a resounding yes. According to many utilities and reliability authorities, wind power can readily be accommodated into electric system operations reliably and economically.

In Europe, Denmark receives over 20% of its electricity from wind energy, and in 2007 Germany got around 7% of its electricity from the wind. Both Spain and Portugal had periods in 2007 when wind energy provided over 20% of their electricity-in fact, Spain recently set a single-day record with over 40% of its electricity coming from its wind farms. Here in the U.S., Iowa leads the nation in the percentage of electricity it gets from wind, at 5.5%, while Minnesota is not far behind with 4.6%.

These are examples of how high penetrations of wind power can be a valuable part of a utility's "generation mix" that supplies electricity, reliably and without interruption, to consumers.

How it's done

How is this already being accomplished if, as everyone knows, "the wind doesn't blow all the time"? First, it's important to remember that the electrical grid is an amazing technical achievement of the 20th century, requiring operators to balance system demand for electricity with the system production of electricity from generation facilities (power plants), on a real-time basis-24-7, 365 days a year. This real-time need to balance load (i.e., demand, or the electricity users are requesting) with the supply of electricity, makes electricity very...

http://www.renewableenergyworld.com/rea/news/ate/story?id=52179