Opportunities and key challenges for wind energy trading with high penetration in Indian power market

This paper briefly discusses the present framework and status of Indian power market and guides through the possible adaptations to accommodate the growing renewable energy (RE) integration into the grid. The participation of RE generators in the wholesale energy market would provide them a platform to optimally manage their generation portfolio which would help them in compensating the high investment cost. The increased competition in the market would eventually bring down the electricity price. The objective of this paper is to identify an ideal framework and optimal bidding mechanism for RE generators (wind energy in particular) to maximize the overall capital gain (social welfare) in the Indian power market. The inputs from various foreign electricity markets having high wind energy penetration have been considered. Recent studies suggest that battery energy storage system (BESS) can play a significant role in handling risks associated with the uncertainties in wind power generation and thus can help in maximizing the revenue for wind farm owners. It can also be instrumental in active/reactive power balancing which will further help in the frequency regulation. The paper probes into the combined wind and battery energy trading, and various bidding strategies in the day-ahead market (DAM), intraday energy market, real-time balancing, and other ancillary markets.