Using Energy Storage to Maximize Wind and Solar Electricity Generators Effectiveness in Dispatchable Generation Replacement

Abstract

To aid in the replacement of fossil fuel-based electricity generation with renewable generation this thesis uses timestep wind and solar generation data with load data to determine the required storage demands for dispatchable generation retirement. The capacity value of wind and solar electricity generation is also calculated to determine the effectiveness of current wind and solar capacity at reducing dispatchable generation demand. The capacity values for wind and solar generators were measured using the cumulative frequency analysis method, which determined the reliable generation at high load times. Then an energy storage model is used which determines the required capacities of solar, wind and storage to retire vast amounts of dispatchable generation. The energy storage requirements for various dispatchable generation retirement levels were used to calculate costs. The lowest cost combinations of wind, solar and, storage were plotted based on dispatchable generation retirement.