Cost savings and emission reduction capability of wind-integrated power systems

In the face of energy crisis and environmental impacts of conventional energy sources, renewable energy sources have attracted tremendous interest. Among many resources, wind energy has proven to be a promising renewable energy option in recent times. The primary objective of utilizing renewable energy is its environmental sustainability and the idea of emission reduction constitutes a prominent part in it. The emission here refers to the CO2, SO2 and NOx emissions from thermal power plants. However, recent research works suggest that there remains a considerable anomaly between the claims of emission reduction by wind energy developers and the actual emissions, particularly with the integration of wind power into the grid system. The estimation methodology involving tools like wind resource assessment and energy capture may not provide accurate estimates due to some power system generation and operational constraints. The objective of the present study is to analyse the impact of wind turbine ratings and economic emission dispatch (EED) on the generation cost and emissions in wind integrated power systems. In this regard, the study investigates the concept of emission factor and wind-integrated EED. Wind turbines available at different rated power and rated speeds are incorporated in four different test power systems and the actual cost and emissions over a selected period are evaluated. Finally, the impact of the wind power integration on the generation cost savings and emission reduction is investigated.