2017 ISO New England System Operational Analysis and Renewable Energy Integration Study - Highlights*

Abstract

The generation mix of ISO New England is fundamentally changing. The representation of nuclear, coal and oil generation facilities is set to dramatically fall, and natural gas, wind and solar facilities will come to fill their place. Solar and wind introduce greater uncertainty and must be accurately forecasted. This paper introduces the findings of a study launched by ISO New England on 12 predefined scenarios, six for 2025 and six for 2030, with varying penetration of variable energy resources (VERs) as well as dispatchable generation. The heart of the study's methodology is a novel, but now extensively published, holistic assessment approach called the Electric Power Enterprise Control System (EPECS) simulator. The EPECS methodology has been published and validated by ISO New England. The findings of this study highlight the need for more holistic assessment of operational techniques such as in the determination of operating reserves and curtailment. For cases with high penetration of VERs (2025–3, 2030–2, 2030–3 and 2030–6) the study shows the system's inability to mitigate imbalances due to inadequate load-following, ramping and regulation reserves. The potential for congestion on the interfaces is also observed for these scenarios. In addition to these issues, the study highlights the integral role of curtailment in dealing with negative net load in the presence of “must-run” generation.