Toronto: Ontario’s Independent Electricity System Operator announced what it called a major milestone September 3 with the introduction of a new dispatch tool for all grid-connected wind resources.
The ability to dispatch wind, a new IESO function scheduled to take effect September 11, 2013, is part of the system operator’s long term plan for renewables integration. The IESO notes that the timing is significant: The change comes only months before 5,700 MW of additional wind and solar power are expected to be connected across the distribution and transmission networks.
“The IESO is constantly looking for ways to improve the efficient operation of the province’s electricity market, while promoting continued reliable supply,” said Bruce Campbell, President and Chief Executive Officer of the IESO. “The dispatch of variable generation – wind and soon solar – will help reliably and efficiently integrate the growing fleet of variable generators into our system.”
This new capability, highlighted in the organization’s latest 18-Month Outlook, gives operators an important additional mechanism for managing the operation of the bulk power system. It gives the IESO another source of flexibility to meet ramping requirements as demand for electricity increases and decreases over the day, and to manage surplus baseload generation. Within the availability of wind, wind turbines can be highly flexible, increasing and decreasing output very quickly in response to system needs.
The dispatch will apply to 1,725 MW of existing transmission-connected wind resources as well as an estimated 3,000 MW of transmission-connected wind and 280 MW of transmission-connected solar expected to come into service over the next 18 months. Distribution-based wind and solar facilities, forecast to total almost 2,400 MW during this period, will not be subject to grid dispatch, but the output from those facilities will now be visible to the IESO’s system operators. The enhancements also include state-of-art wind forecasting to assist in planning and executing daily operations.
Overall, the 18-Month Outlook projects adequate generation and transmission capability to meet consumer demands over the next year and a half – including a 2014 summer peak forecast approaching 25,000 MW in extreme weather conditions.
Other new supply to be added to the system includes the conversion of the former Atikokan coal facility to biomass and 223 MW of hydroelectric capacity coming from the Lower Mattagami expansion project.
The current outlook period also includes the final stage of the coal shutdown, with approximately 3,000 MW of supply being taken out of service. The remaining coal-fired units at Lambton and Nanticoke will cease operations by the end of 2013. The Thunder Bay facility is currently slated to stop burning coal by no later than the end of 2014.
Surplus baseload generation (SBG) conditions will continue to increase through the forecast period, a reflection of declining minimum demands for electricity as well as significant quantities of baseload generation on the system. SBG is being managed through normal market mechanisms, including exports, nuclear manoeuvres and soon, wind dispatch.
See also “Ontario’s renewable integration rules hit the ground running,” IPPSO FACTO, April 2013.