Wind power planning and operating capacity credit assessment

Wind is an important energy source and is regarded as a valuable alternative to more traditional electric power generating sources. Generating capacity from wind power behaves quite differently than that from more conventional sources as the wind is variable, intermittent and both terrain and site specific. The capacity credit that can be assigned to a particular wind power site is therefore highly dependent on the wind regime at that site. This paper examines the concept of the capacity credit associated with one or more wind farms using the IEEE-Reliability Test System. The studies are focused on wind power capacity credit in the conventional power system planning sense and on the capacity credit associated with one or more wind farms in a system operating context. The basic probability indices of Loss of Load Expectation, Loss of Energy Expectation and Unit Commitment Risk are used to assess the Increase in Peak Load Carrying Capability attributable to an added wind facility and the assigned capacity credit. The analyses are extended to consider multiple wind sites with dependent and independent wind regimes.