GE Energy has signed a contract with the University of California to study the impact that higher levels of intermittent renewable power generation, such as wind energy, will have on the state's power grid.
Goals for the project include ensuring grid reliability and quality and accommodating emerging markets for renewable generation, including both wind and solar energy. The California Energy Commission’s Public Interest Energy Research program (PIER) is funding the project. One of the factors GE has been commissioned to evaluate is how power plants and power grid operators can compensate for those fluctuations. GE’s technical experts will work in tandem with a team of industry experts, assembled by PIER and the California Wind Energy Collaborative, to perform the study. They will evaluate operation of the state’s power grid, first with existing renewable resources and then with three increasing levels of additional renewable resources. The project will span about 16 months. Upon its completion, the study will provide recommendations on operational, financial, market, and policy considerations for integrating renewable energy into the California grid.