Optimizing wind farm locations to reduce variability and increase generation

With the drive towards increased wind penetration, the nature of power system operation is changing. In particular, the uncertainty of wind generation becomes exacerbated by the nature of the deregulated market. Rather than wind farm location being selected to compliment existing wind generation, the planning process for wind farms reward maximizing the generation of each wind farm. This paper presents and demonstrates a methodology for estimating and comparing wind generation portfolios whose wind farm locations are determined according to different system rules. Specifically this methodology optimizes the geographic distribution of wind farms within a portfolio according to criteria such as minimizing variability while maximizing wind generation. To achieve this, the methodology uses the MERRA dataset to provide estimates of wind power at any location.