A new approach to studying the impact of intermittent renewable resources

This paper presents results of a study that combines the use of two standard industry tools - ABB GridView and GE-PSLF - and an in-house tool developed by KEMA called KERMIT. The paper proposes using system frequency to select worst-case conditions rather than the commonly used system load and contingencies. The approach redefines contingencies as continuous events. Using actual utility data, the results demonstrate the proposed approach's effectiveness in answering critical questions related to system reliability and stability following various renewable contingency events. Characterizing the inherent risks of integrating renewable generating resources into the power system, this paper examines and validates a range of mitigating solutions including energy storage as a means to provide “synthetic” inertia, in addition to demand response, capacitor placement and other T&D upgrades. Contingency results are interpreted in terms of the industry standard Low Voltage Ride Through criteria.