Wind power integration in power systems with transmission bottlenecks

The best conditions for the development of wind farms are in remote, open areas with low population density. The transmission system in such areas might not be dimensioned to accommodate additional large-scale power infeed. Furthermore a part of the existing transmission capacity might already be reserved for conventional power plants situated in the same area. In this paper four alternatives for large-scale wind power integration in power systems with transmission bottlenecks are considered: revision of the methods for calculation of available transmission capacity, transmission network reinforcement, excess wind energy curtailments and excess wind energy storage in hydro reservoirs. The paper provides a discussion on each of the four aforementioned alternatives based on the existing research.