Operational tools and policies for integrating large amounts of variable generation in Ireland and Northern Ireland

A large amount of non-synchronous variable generation, such as wind power, is being added to power systems worldwide. This presents a new set of challenges to Transmission System Operators (TSOs). In Ireland and Northern Ireland, the current government policy is to have 40% of electrical energy provided by renewable sources by 2020. To help achieve this, EirGrid has introduced a Wind Security Assessment Tool to aid the controllers in assessing the impact of wind generation on system transient and voltage stability. In addition to this, studies are being carried out on ramping requirements for conventional generation which is now required for balancing wind generation as well as meeting demand. This generation balancing must be carried out in the face of variable forecast errors, and yet meet system security requirements.