Impact of Wind Power Growth on Capacity Credit

Global environmental concerns associated with conventional energy generation have led to rapid growth of wind energy applications in power systems. Many jurisdictions around the world have set very high wind penetration targets in their energy generation mix, and as a result, there is a growing concern for the reliability of the power systems containing these highly fluctuating power sources. Many studies have been done to assess the capacity credit of wind sources by comparing the reliability contribution of these sources with that of the conventional generating sources. Previous studies have shown that the capacity credit of wind sources is system dependent. The results from a specific study, therefore, cannot be used in general by wind system planners or policy makers. This study recognizes the growing application of wind sources, and analyzes the impact of key system variables on system reliability in order to provide a general approximation of wind capacity credit as a function of wind penetration.