Microgrid and renewable generation integration: University of California, San Diego

This paper is a microgrid study of the University of California, San Diego (UCSD), a large campus with diverse distributed energy resources (DER). It highlights a microgrid’s “missing money”, which sharply differs from a natural-gas-fired generation plant’s “missing money” due to large-scale wind generation development. In response to UCSD’s expressed financial interest, we assess three strategies for integrating renewable generation: peak load shifting, onsite photovoltaic firming and grid support. While all three strategies are technically feasible and can be cost-effective under certain conditions, California’s current tariff structures and market prices do not offer sufficient incentives to motivate UCSD to offer these services. Alternative incentive mechanisms, which may resemble to those used to encourage renewable generation development, are necessary to induce UCSD’s DER offer for renewables integration. Such mechanisms are also relevant to commercial and industrial loads across California, including the vast combined heat and power resources.

[1]  Florentina Paraschiv,et al.  The impact of renewable energies on EEX day-ahead electricity prices , 2014 .

[2]  Adonis Yatchew,et al.  Ontario feed-in-tariff programs , 2011 .

[3]  Kathleen L. Spees,et al.  Capacity Markets - Lessons Learned from the First Decade , 2013 .

[4]  Pablo Sanchis,et al.  Energy management strategy for a renewable-based residential microgrid with generation and demand forecasting , 2015 .

[5]  P. Mancarella,et al.  Techno-economic and business case assessment of low carbon technologies in distributed multi-energy systems , 2016 .

[6]  Ira Horowitz,et al.  A review of electricity product differentiation , 2014 .

[7]  Jesper Munksgaard,et al.  Wind power in the Danish liberalised power market—Policy measures, price impact and investor incentives , 2008 .

[8]  Fu Xiao,et al.  An interactive building power demand management strategy for facilitating smart grid optimization , 2014 .

[9]  Iain MacGill,et al.  High penetration wind generation impacts on spot prices in the Australian national electricity market , 2011 .

[10]  Catalina Gomez-Quiles,et al.  Large-scale wind power integration and wholesale electricity trading benefits: Estimation via an ex post approach , 2012 .

[11]  Robert Gross,et al.  Winds of change: How high wind penetrations will affect investment incentives in the GB electricity sector , 2011 .

[12]  H. Jacobsen,et al.  Reducing the market impact of large shares of intermittent energy in Denmark , 2010 .

[13]  Jianhui Wang,et al.  Smart Transmission Grid: Vision and Framework , 2010, IEEE Transactions on Smart Grid.

[14]  Chris Marnay,et al.  Modeling of Thermal Storage Systems in MILP Distributed Energy Resource Models , 2015 .

[15]  Jianhui Wang,et al.  Coordinated Energy Management of Networked Microgrids in Distribution Systems , 2015, IEEE Transactions on Smart Grid.

[16]  Chi-Keung Woo,et al.  The impact of wind generation on the electricity spot-market price level and variance: The Texas experience , 2011 .

[17]  L. Barroso,et al.  The Green Effect , 2010, IEEE Power and Energy Magazine.

[18]  Rosemarie Velik,et al.  Grid-price-dependent energy management in microgrids using a modified simulated annealing triple-optimizer , 2014 .

[19]  J M Morales,et al.  Simulating the Impact of Wind Production on Locational Marginal Prices , 2011, IEEE Transactions on Power Systems.

[20]  Richard Green,et al.  Support Schemes for Renewable Energy: An Economic Analysis , 2012 .

[21]  Chi-Keung Woo,et al.  Avoided cost estimation and cost-effectiveness of permanent load shifting in California , 2012 .

[22]  Jay Zarnikau,et al.  Successful renewable energy development in a competitive electricity market: A Texas case study , 2011 .

[23]  Janina Ketterer,et al.  The impact of wind power generation on the electricity price in Germany , 2014 .

[24]  M. Genoese,et al.  The merit-order effect: A detailed analysis of the price effect of renewable electricity generation on spot market prices in Germany , 2008 .

[25]  Manuel Alcázar-Ortega,et al.  Integration of renewable energy in microgrids coordinated with demand response resources: Economic evaluation of a biomass gasification plant by Homer Simulator , 2014 .

[26]  Jiang Wu,et al.  Self-balancing robust scheduling with flexible batch loads for energy intensive corporate microgrid , 2015 .

[27]  Fereidoon P. Sioshansi,et al.  Evolution of Global Electricity Markets: New paradigms, new challenges, new approaches , 2013 .

[28]  Chi-Keung Woo,et al.  Pareto-superior time-of-use rate option for industrial firms , 1995 .

[29]  Hongjie Jia,et al.  Hierarchical management for integrated community energy systems , 2015 .

[30]  Ren Orans,et al.  What drives renewable energy development , 2011 .

[31]  Iakovos Michailidis,et al.  Intelligent energy and thermal comfort management in grid-connected microgrids with heterogeneous occupancy schedule , 2015 .

[32]  Jianhui Wang,et al.  Networked Microgrids for Self-Healing Power Systems , 2016, IEEE Transactions on Smart Grid.

[33]  Jianhui Wang,et al.  Decentralized Energy Management System for Networked Microgrids in Grid-Connected and Islanded Modes , 2016, IEEE Transactions on Smart Grid.

[34]  Ryan Wiser,et al.  Understanding wind turbine price trends in the U.S. over the past decade , 2012 .

[35]  J. Kiviluoma,et al.  Global potential for wind-generated electricity , 2009, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

[36]  Chi-Keung Woo,et al.  Blowing in the Wind: Vanishing Payoffs of a Tolling Agreement for Natural-gas-fired Generation of Electricity in Texas , 2011 .

[37]  Ennio Macchi,et al.  A detailed model for the optimal management of a multigood microgrid , 2015 .

[38]  Jeremy Lin,et al.  Wind Power and Electricity Prices at the PJM Market , 2013, IEEE Transactions on Power Systems.

[39]  Wim Turkenburg,et al.  Assessment of the global and regional geographical, technical and economic potential of onshore wind energy , 2004 .

[40]  Stefano Squartini,et al.  Multi-apartment residential microgrid with electrical and thermal storage devices: Experimental analysis and simulation of energy management strategies , 2015 .

[41]  Ross Baldick,et al.  Did the introduction of a nodal market structure impact wholesale electricity prices in the Texas (ERCOT) market? , 2014 .

[42]  Claudia Kemfert,et al.  Gone with the Wind? Electricity Market Prices and Incentives to Invest in Thermal Power Plants under Increasing Wind Energy Supply , 2009 .

[43]  Chi-Keung Woo,et al.  Electricity-market price and nuclear power plant shutdown: Evidence from California , 2014 .

[44]  Stefania Marini,et al.  How solar energy and electrochemical technologies may help developing countries and the environment , 2014 .

[45]  Jianhui Wang,et al.  Self-Healing Resilient Distribution Systems Based on Sectionalization Into Microgrids , 2015, IEEE Transactions on Power Systems.

[46]  Weerakorn Ongsakul,et al.  An efficient two stage stochastic optimal energy and reserve management in a microgrid , 2015 .

[47]  Kenneth Gillingham,et al.  Deconstructing Solar Photovoltaic Pricing: The Role of Market Structure, Technology, and Policy , 2014 .

[48]  Wencong Su,et al.  Stochastic Energy Scheduling in Microgrids With Intermittent Renewable Energy Resources , 2014, IEEE Transactions on Smart Grid.

[49]  Russell McKenna,et al.  Optimisation of the capacity and the dispatch of decentralised micro-CHP systems: A case study for the UK , 2015 .

[50]  Chi-Keung Woo,et al.  What Moves the Ex Post Variable Profit of Natural-Gas-Fired Generation in California? , 2016 .

[51]  Chi-Keung Woo,et al.  The Impact of Wind Generation on Wholesale Electricity Prices in the Hydro-Rich Pacific Northwest , 2013, IEEE Transactions on Power Systems.

[52]  Pedro Linares,et al.  An ex-post analysis of the effect of renewables and cogeneration on Spanish electricity prices , 2011 .

[53]  Jeremy Woyak,et al.  Economic optimal operation of Community Energy Storage systems in competitive energy markets , 2014 .