Simulation of energy storage in a system with integrated wind resources

Utility-scale storage is key to providing the means of better harnessing wind energy potential. This paper proposes a probabilistic simulation approach capable of assessing - over longer time periods - the impacts of a utility scale storage unit on the economics and reliability of power systems with integrated wind resources. We deploy a snapshot-based simulation approach to account for the time dependencies of the load, wind power outputs and storage operation as well as their impacts on the utilization of the transmission resources as prescribed by the clearing mechanism of the hourly transmission-constrained day-ahead markets. We run Monte Carlo simulations in order to capture the uncertainty in thermal unit availabilities, the load and the wind power outputs. The methodology is able to represent the seasonal effects in loads and wind speeds, the impacts of maintenance scheduling and the ramifications of new policy initiatives. We illustrate the benefits of storage exploitation with several application studies run on the IEEE 118 test system. Results show that storage can effectively help reduce the overall buyer payments and improve system reliability by storing energy in the low load hours and discharging at peak hours, thereby displacing more expensive units.