Wind energy generation can increase fivefold in New York

10.04.2010

Wind energy generation can increase fivefold in New York

30 September 2010-- A study issued by the New York Independent System Operator (NYISO) says wind power generation could be increased by more than five times the amount currently operating in the state of New York.

The report, Growing Wind: NYISO 2010 Wind Generation Study, looks at expanding wind power from the existing 1,275 MW to 8,000 MW by 2018. The study also found that any operational requirements associated with integrating wind generation could be addressed. That would pave the way for New York to have 30 percent of its electricity supplied by renewables by 2015.

Under the 8,000 MW scenario, the added renewable generation would lower total energy production costs and decrease the emissions of sulfur dioxide (SO₂), nitrogen oxides (NO_X), carbon dioxide (CO₂) and other pollutants, according to the study.

However, adding such a large amount of wind power would require upgrades to transmission and additional regulation services. Regulation is the moment-to-moment balancing of load with changes in generation. The cost of the additional regulation service was not estimated by the study.

To accommodate wind generation reliably, the NYISO has implemented measures such as a wind dispatch system and a wind forecasting mechanism that uses wind speed and wind direction data to forecast the amount of energy expected to be produced by wind resources over various time frames.

The new analysis was undertaken because a 2004 study analyzed only 3,300 MW of wind generation. There are now more than 7,000 MW of proposed wind projects that have been submitted to the NYISO for potential interconnection to the state's power grid.

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