Intertek Announces Free Webinar on "Cost of Wind Integration"

While the benefits of renewable sources of power such as wind are numerous, it is important to determine both the operational and cost impacts of variable wind power on a utility's traditional non-wind fossil power resources. Wind power as a non dispatchable resource requires other resources and modified operational procedures at power plants, as backup to maintain grid reliability.

Intertek's free webinar will focus on short term and long term impacts to a utility's non-wind, power plants (gas turbine, combined cycle, steam). It will highlight changes to the power plant's MW generation profile (ramp rates, start up/shut down cycles) and the related operating cost impacts.

Regulators and power generators alike, realize the importance of determining these cost impacts. While a number of studies are being conducted to determine the impacts of wind integration to system planning, ISOs across the country are encouraging power producers to recognize and determine these costs. Deregulated markets and a push towards nodal markets has  increased the importance of determining these costs. Underestimating a power plants operating cost can have a profound effect on a power producer's bottom line. Hence, ERCOT has required the submission of "Verifiable Costs" as an input in preparation for its nodal market operations. Moreover, in California as part of the Smart grid implementation plan, the California Public Utilities Commission (SB 17, Padilla) has mandated the need to determine the cost of renewable integration.

Recent studies by Intertek show significant increases in a power plant's O&M costs because of wind integration.

Intertek's free webinar will provide power generators and dispatchers, energy planning and risk groups, energy traders, implementers of Smart Grid and RPS initiatives, as well as regulators, insights into the new operational conditions and the associated increased costs.

Key cost impacts to existing resources from wind integration and related power plant cycling are:

• Changes in utility operating costs for non-wind fossil resources due to renewable power

• Forecasting cost of future cycling costs with various operating scenarios (AGC, Load Follows)

• Mitigation of cost impacts from wind and solar integration