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VG Spurs New Look at Old Standards
Published: April 23, 2009:Author: ColumbiaGrid Staff
Load following, regulation, energy balancing and reserves, all are familiar issues for transmission operators. But the influx of variable resources, like wind and solar, have amplified the challenges. ColumbiaGrid’s Vice President Paul Arnold is in the thick of WECC’s effort – the Variable Generation Subcommittee (VGS) – to explore whether existing reliability standards and business practices are adequate for the new world of variable generation.
“Integration of variable resources has been on everyone’s radar for some time,” Arnold said. “In addition to how you accomplish it and what are the costs, there are reliability implications. WECC is interested in exploring variable generation and the opportunities it offers,” he explained.
Arnold is ColumbiaGrid’s representative to the VGS, which was established last fall, and he also chairs the VGS marketing work group. ColumbiaGrid members Melissa Lyons of Chelan County PUD and Bart McManus of BPA are also involved in VGS.
WECC is interested in the best standards to support integration of wind, Arnold said, adding that a lot of studies have been done that address how to bring the resources onto the system reliably. To set standards, the industry needs to understand the data that’s available and the problems, issues and possible solutions, he added.
Wind presents a lot of unpredictability for system operations. An operator has to be ready to take power from other sources to balance the natural fluctuations. VGS is asking whether the current constructs work or do we need new ones to integrate the variable generation that’s planned in the Western Interconnection, Arnold explained.
The marketing group is focused on what types of reserve products are required to integrate variable generation and how best to access them. A part of the work group’s job is to see that available information is accessible and promote a common understanding of the issues. In addition, the work group will develop recommendations that become part of those VGS will submit to WECC’s Joint Guidance Committee.
“The size and scope of the problem is getting larger, not smaller – the future is coming at us fast,” Arnold said. “In order to integrate these resources, we need to be able to tap the flexibility that’s out there,” he said.
