Impact of wind generation on the operation and development of the UK electricity systems

Although penetration of wind generation may displace a significant amount of energy produced by large conventional plant, there are issues associated with the extent to which wind generation will be able to replace the capacity and flexibility of conventional generating plant. This is important since wind power is variable, so it will be necessary to retain a significant proportion of conventional plant to ensure security of supply especially under conditions of high demand and low wind. Hence, the capacity value of wind generation will be limited as it will not be possible to displace conventional generation capacity on a “megawatt for megawatt” basis. Wind power is variable and not easy to predict, hence various forms of additional reserves will be needed to maintain the balance between supply and demand at all times. Additionally, if the majority of wind generation plant is located in Scotland and the North of England, reinforcement of the transmission network will be needed to accommodate the increases in the north-south flow of electricity.In this paper an assessment of the costs and benefits of wind generation on the UK electricity system is carried out, assuming different levels of wind power capacity. Overall, it is concluded that the system will be able to accommodate significant increases in wind power generation with relatively small increases in overall costs of supply, about 5% of the current domestic electricity price in case of 20% energy produced by wind power.