Simultaneous Reduction of Emissions and Costs by Curtailing Renewables in Optimal Operation of Power Systems

To lower pollution, it became imperative to integrate as much renewable energies as possible in power systems. This has been translated into forcing the maximum production of variable renewable energy (VRE) ---wind and solar--- into power systems operation. The increasing operational costs to maximize the VRE output became the price to pay in order to lower pollution. However, here we show that it is a common misconception that forcing VRE production always lowers pollution. We present some examples illustrating that, apart from increasing costs, forcing VRE production can also increase pollution.