Toward low carbon energy systems: The convergence of wind power, demand response, and the electricity grid

The large scale deployment of renewable generation is widely seen as the most promising option for displacing fossil fuel power generation, and for expanding generation capacity to meet the growing demand for electricity without increasing carbon emissions. A key challenge in integrating wind and other renewable power in the electricity grid is to devise approaches that ensure sustainability not only from the view point of carbon emissions, but also in terms of the market and operational constraints of the power system. This paper outlines some of the opportunities and challenges faced by power system operators in offsetting the negative impacts of wind power integration. The potential of traditionally passive loads in playing the role of resources that can be actively involved in offsetting wind variability will be discussed. We will then specifically consider a conceptual framework for incentive-based demand response in which highly-distributed low carbon energy conversion technologies, such as heat pumps, electric vehicles, and electrolyzers, act as dispatchable short-term energy balancing resources that support increasing levels of wind power integration.