Coordinating wind and hydro generation to increase the effective load carrying capability

This paper investigates reliability benefits through the coordination of wind and hydro resources. The coordination benefit is assessed in the form of an increase in effective load carrying capability (ELCC). The wind-hydro coordination is achieved by taking advantage of utilizing an extra portion of generating capability of the hydro plants that is not normally considered as dependable generating capacity in generation adequacy analysis because of constraints such as water limitations. This additional capacity is contemplated as an equivalent energy storage capability charged using the wind power by reducing the hydro generating plant output to conserve the water stored in the reservoir. The methodology of wind-hydro coordination based on generation adequacy evaluation is presented, and the impact of different energy storage operating strategies on the ELCC values is illustrated in this paper.