Impacts of Load Shifting on Renewable Energy Integration

While renewable energy generation from time variable sources keeps increasing, end-user interactions through smart grid development and the adoption of smart appliances lead to significant changes in consumer behavior. Hence, renewable energy generation must be curtailed more frequently when the expected demand is surpassed. Likewise, demand side measures should be considered more thoroughly so that appropriate capacity limits for new generation units can be defined. An analysis of load shifting is performed for São Miguel Island, Azores, and indicates that through defined rules of load shifts the base load limit can be elevated and new limits for the maximum installed capacity can be set. The effects of load shifts are crucial for decision makers since investments in additional renewable energy capacities can be limited and back-up capacities can be reduced.