Effects of PV on Conventional Generation

In 2010, photovoltaic generation accounted for 0.28 percent of the renewable generation mix in USA. It has recently been growing at an annual rate of over 220 percent [9]. The proliferation of PV systems offers opportunities (such as a reduction in peak load and loss) but also potential for use in Volt/Var management and control. It also creates need for additional generation that covers uncertainty involved in PV output. In fact, they may in some cases increase fossil fuel consumption (compared to not using renewables with rapid output changes) because of their intermittency. In addition, viewed in hourly resolution (averaged every hour), the PV system has a stable output. Rapid variations in short-term PV generation, typically in minute-averaging resolution, result from transient weather changes. Therefore, this study models the short-term intermittency and investigates the impact that it may have on operation of thermal resources intended to complement the renewables.