The effect of PV siting on power system flexibility needs

Siting policies for PV must weigh system flexibility against other locational concerns, such as the energy and capacity value of the solar resource in an area. We find a small trade off between energy and reserves; where dispersed systems require less reserves but also have lower capacity factors than more centralized systems. However, we find a much greater trade-off between energy and capacity value in California; where the regions that produce the most energy on average-in the Mojave desert-tend to be cloudy during current peak demand hours, which occur during Summer afternoons.