Ramp enhanced unit commitment for energy scheduling with high penetration of renewable generation

With high penetration of renewable generation, power system operations need additional ramping capability to follow the change of renewable generation. However, without proper unit commitment in the forward energy scheduling process, the system may not have sufficient ramping capability in the real time operation when renewable generation varies while system load is sharply pulling up or ramping down. This paper analyzes the ramping needs in system operations to incorporate the uncertainty of renewable generation, and proposes a ramp enhanced unit commitment model for the day-ahead energy scheduling. Simulations are performed on the WSCC179 system with manufactured generator commitment data and results shows improvement of system ramping capability margin.