Full Title: Wind Induced Coal Plant Cycling Costs and the Implications of Wind Curtailment for Public Service Company of Colorado
Author(s): Sean Connolly, Keith Parks, and Charles Janecek
Publisher(s): Xcel Energy
Publication Date: August 1, 2011
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Description (excerpt):
The purpose of this study is to define and quantify the integration costs directly associated with 1) cycling baseload coal generator output as a result of wind generation levels 2) curtailing wind generation at times to avoid certain excessive system bottoming events. PSCo intends to incorporate all wind integration costs into its resource planning and selection processes to ensure that wind generation is compared equitably with the other resource technologies.
Two levels of nameplate wind capacity, 2 and 3 Gigawatts (GW) by 2020, were evaluated as part of this study. In addition to identifying and analyzing the cycling and curtailment integration costs noted above, through this study PSCo seeks to establish the appropriate coal plant operating protocol for system operations.