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Flexible Generation in Volatile Markets

By Joseph Ferrari, Wartsila North America, Inc.

"With increasing wind and solar penetration, ever more stringent environmental regulations, and coal retirement, comes increased market volatility.

"Volatility is manifested as an increased frequency of price swings, which influence a thermal plant’s ability to participate in the market, as frequent starts/stops and long periods of part load operation may put them "out of the money" and ultimately increase costs to serve load.

Flexible gas generation can help utilities cope with market volatility by maximizing efficiency of dispatch. Here, flexibility is defined as modular capacity with the ability to start/stop multiple times per day at no added cost, with minimal to no restrictions on up or down time, with very low minimum loads, all while maintaining efficiency.

In this presentation we give examples from NYISO and ISO-NE, based on historical analysis of price signals, showing that the most flexible units are indeed the most beneficial of new-build options. Comparisons are made across gas-fired technologies, from simple and combined cycle gas turbines to medium speed, utility-scale reciprocating engine plants. Results show reciprocating engine power plants can 1.) help utilities serve load at minimum cost and/or 2.) provide the highest profitability for Independent Power Producers (IPPs)."
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