Curtail Renewables to Enhance Flexibility: A Regulated Forecast-based Dispatch Approach

TL;DR

This paper introduces a regulated forecast-based dispatch method that moderates renewable output to improve system flexibility and reduce costs in power grid operations with high renewable energy penetration.

Contribution

It proposes a novel RFBD approach that mitigates flexibility degradation caused by high FRP requirements in forecast-based dispatch systems.

Findings

RFBD reduces FRP requirements significantly.

RFBD lowers overall operating costs.

The approach enhances real-time system flexibility.

Abstract

This paper considers the flexibility degradation problem caused by excessive flexible ramping product (FRP) requirements with high variable energy resource (VER) penetration}. Based on the rolling-window co-optimization model of energy and FRP, theoretical analysis of this paper reveals a unit dispatch transfer effect, in which high FRP requirements under forecast-based dispatch (FBD) constrain real-time flexibility and distort economic efficiency. To alleviate this effect, a regulated forecast-based dispatch (RFBD) approach is proposed, which moderately caps VER outputs and enhances system flexibility. Simulation results demonstrate that the proposed approach effectively lowers FRP requirements and reduces operating cost compared with FBD.