A Method to Study the Effect of Renewable Resource Variability on Power System Dynamics

This paper proposes a set-theoretic method to assess the effect of variability associated with renewable-based electricity generation on power system dynamics, with a focus on time-scales involving electromechanical phenomena. Performance requirements define a set within which the values of certain system variables, e.g., synchronous generator speeds, system frequency, or bus voltages, must remain at all times. To address this problem, reachability analysis techniques are used; for a given time frame, if the reach set, i.e., the set that contains all possible system trajectories, is within the set defined by performance requirements, then it may be concluded that variability arising from in renewable-based electricity generation does not have a significant impact on system dynamics. The proposed method is illustrated through several case studies, including the 39-bus New England system model.