Cycling Impact Assessment of Renewable Energy Generation in the Costs of Conventional Generators

Abstract

This paper proposes a set of indicators to quantify the impact of conventional thermal generating unit cycling on its non-fuel variable costs (NFVC) due to generation mix changes in the system. A novel iterative cost adjustment framework is developed to evaluate the proposed indicators in order to assess the impacts of increasing installation of renewable resources on operation costs of the thermal units. The proposed framework allows private investors to estimate NFVC using a minimum level of information without a full knowledge of the system parameters. Additionally, the proposed framework is kept generic, which supports the NFVC adjustment for the conventional thermal units in a changing market environment. The impact of accelerated solar photovoltaic penetration on cycling and operational costs of existing thermal power plants in the Chilean power system is assessed using the indicators and methodology developed. The results suggest that natural gas driven peaking power plants are more susceptible to experiencing increased NFVC from solar photovoltaic growth than coal fired base load power plants.

Multi-objective stochastic economic dispatch with maximal renewable penetration under renewable obligation

“…The addition of large-scale intermittent energy sources such PV and wind generators has adversely affected thermal generators performance in the power system. Their integration has increased the cycling costs of thermal generators [4]. This has led to an overall increase in maintenance cost of thermal generators [5].…”