A Reliability Vignette: Future Wind Planning Informed by Current Operating Experience
By Rob O’Connell, NERC Reliability Specialist
NERC is launching a new product called Reliability Vignettes, which are intended to capture current operating incidents of interest and project the circumstances of the incidents into the future as think pieces for system planning and operating considerations. NERC will publish Reliability Vignettes on an occasional basis as interesting system occurrences are identified.
The first Reliability Vignette—Future Wind Planning Informed by Current Operating Experience—uses the real-world operating experiences of two Balancing Authorities in a high-wind event as the basis for consideration of a future system that is wind- and solar-generation dominant. This document’s objective is to provide future resource planning considerations for registered entities to ponder, consider and/or implement as they design future operations of their system assets. Operating scenarios for the vignettes are summarized in an unattributable manner and shared with the industry, policymakers and interested parties.
This initial vignette documented September 23, 2022 analyses the real and forecasted loss of wind generated power during a severe storm. Power systems with large amounts of wind resources are being faced with operational challenges when high winds force wind generation off-line. This operating incident revealed successful transmission operations and identified resource balancing needs that should be considered in the future planning of high-wind generation systems.
As the grid transforms, the use of wind generation will certainly multiply. Current operating experiences, such as the one summarized in this vignette, can serve as thought opportunities revealing faint signals of more serious issues. These vignettes present valuable insights for operating reliably in the future, provided lessons are identified, considered, and incorporated appropriately into planning/operating activities.
Reliability Vignettes will be available on the Event Analysis, Reliability Assessment, and Performance Analysispage of NERC’s website.