Grid owners and operators manage electricity delivery over an extraordinarily wide range of time scales, from functions that require adjustments to grid conditions within microseconds to long-term planning for infrastructure investments with a decade or longer time horizon. The increasing penetration of both distributed and utility-scale renewable generation affects grid operations at all time scales and also adds an increasingly complex geographical component.
In September, the GridWise Alliance will explore the policy and technology implications of a high penetration of renewables for the grid. Flexibility across the entire power system, both physical and structural, will be key to integrating renewable energy. Our discussions this month will touch on the flexibility resources that can address the short-, medium-, and long-term effects of renewable generation, from technologies that can provide ancillary services or facilitate demand-side management to market design improvements that send price signals to incentivize new grid services.
