Potential Impact of Solar Energy Penetration on PJM Electricity Market

Renewable energy resources, such as wind and solar, have become important parts of today´s generating resource mix. Along with them, these resources also bring their inherent characteristics of variability and uncertainty. Hence, resource planners must be adaptable to accommodate these resources in conducting resource planning. Understanding their impact on the electric grid must be prior and critical. In this paper, we have studied the potential impact of solar energy penetration in a particular location of PJM electricity market. Key economic and system variables that were analyzed include system production cost, market prices (average zonal prices), congestion (both hours and dollars), and transmission losses. We find that significant penetration of solar energy resources can produce system-wide economic benefits in the respective transmission areas as well as the entire system.