Operating reserves assessment in isolated power systems with high wind power penetration

This paper presents a methodology to assess operating reserves in isolated power systems under high penetration of wind power. The methodology is based on a convolution approach that merges the fluctuations of wind speed with the natural variations of demand, and formulates the probability distribution function of variables as a non-Gaussian behavior. The estimation produces a histogram with the probability distribution of operating reserves required in different time spans. The methodology is applied to the expansion plan of a Chilean isolated power system and results indicate that the methodology is able to estimate operating reserve needs in a time span ranging from 1 to 30 minutes, which adequately satisfy the future needs of this isolated power system.