Wind power in New England: modeling and analysis of nondispatchable renewable energy technologies

Nondispatchable renewable energy technologies have beneficial environmental, financial and planning characteristics, yet are not readily included in resource planning analysis for two main reasons: the lack of familiarity in the power sector with their behavior, and the lack of appropriate analysis tools. This paper presents a methodology, to be used in conjunction with a standard production-costing model, for analyzing nondispatchable renewable energy technologies (RETs) as part of power systems operation. Our analysis of 1500 MW_p of wind power in New England shows that this capacity can capture the same amount of energy as the region´s utility sponsored DSM programs, and that the wind resource in New England is comparable, on an energy basis, to that in California