Development of an interactive reliability model for wind and hydro power systems

Wind energy application in electric power systems continues to increase globally due to public environmental concerns and growth of energy demand. Due to the uncertainty in power fluctuations from wind sources, the ability of a power system to absorb available wind energy and maintain the system reliability and stability is reduced as the wind penetration is increased. It therefore becomes important to co-ordinate the operation of wind power with fast responding conventional generating units. Hydro facilities with energy storage capability can alleviate the impact of wind power fluctuations and also contribute to system adequacy. An interactive model for coordination between an energy limited hydro plant and a wind farm is developed. Sequential Monte Carlo simulation techniques are utilized to consider the chronological variation in the wind, water and the energy demand. The various levels of details incorporated in the different reliability models are analyzed in order to determine an appropriate reliability model that provides adequacy indices with reasonable accuracy for wind and hydro systems.