Modeling wind power curtailment with increased capacity in a regional electricity grid supplying a dense urban demand

The analysis indicates that current wind power outputs in the State underperform when compared to what the potential output should be at the same locations and could be if better wind regime sites were selected. Even with improved selection of sites and turbines, no constraints considered caused curtailment until systemwide capacity exceeds 6 GW; beyond this capacity, curtailment occurs only due to the presence of inflexible baseload generators until systemwide capacity exceeds 15 GW. At deeper penetrations of wind, mismatches in potential wind power supply and electricity demand coupled with continuously operating baseload generators have the most significant impact on the curtailment of wind-generated electricity, with much of the curtailment occurring during October-March. Interzonal transmission constraints further increase wind curtailment and would require very large transmission capacity increases to capture fully; however, more modest increases in transmission capacity can significantly reduce curtailment.