Implication of solar and wind energy integration to the grid: a case study of Rajasthan
Student name: Mr Manish Kumar Mishra
Guide: Dr Atul Kumar
Year of completion: 2017
Host Organisation: TERI University
Abstract: India has been marked with the challenge of growing electricity demand due to economic growth.
The rise in electricity demand may also contribute to the issues of challenges related to GHG
emission which can there by lead to large human induced climate change. To address this,
government of India has stated the intent of renewable energy generation capacity in its INDC
(intended nationally determined contribution). Further, each state of India is obliged to consume
fixed share of their energy from Renewable sources. This obligation is termed as Renewable
Purchase Obligation (RPO).
The Electricity market is a mechanism by which electricity is traded (bought/sold) prior to its
supply to the destination grid of the end customer. Considering the RPO of utilities to purchase
electricity, this study is intended to find what will be the share of renewable in the energy mix of
Rajasthan for projected year 2021-2022 and implication of the reduction in tariff of the solar and
wind energy on the energy price of the region.
A Unit Commitment and Economic Dispatch analysis of the Generating units of Rajasthan is
conducted through scenario analysis. The scenario is created for 2015-16 as a base year and
projecting it to 2021-22. In order to conduct this scenario based analysis, PLEXOS integrated
energy simulation tool is used, which is a true and trusted software used worldwide.
2015-16 has been chosen as a base scenario in which electricity demand is meet considering the
RPO, and average energy price has been found for a given fuel mix. A similar exercise has been
carried out, for projected year 2021-22. While Performing this exercise it has been found that, the
inclusion of expensive renewable energy into the merit order is a difficult task but percentage of
solar in the energy mix of the projected year, shows that, to achievedhigher renewable feed-in into
the system, energy charges for renewable sources should be brought at par with conventional
sources.
The second analysis made in this study is that the variation associated with Renewable energy
generation does not substantially affect the total generation. It is, therefore, easier to maintain
frequency through UI (Unscheduled Interchange). But as in future when the feed-in of renewable
energy into the grid increases, the variability and intermittency can also get enhanced in total
generation leading to wider load generation gap. To address this challenge the percentage of
flexible generators in the capacity mix is needed to be increased, which is insufficient in current
energy scenario of Rajasthan.
Key Words: RPO, Utilities, Unit Commitment and Economic Dispatch, PLEXOS, Merit
order.
