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This paper reports recent findings from IEA Wind TCP Task 25, which compiles international experiences and research related to large-scale integration of wind and other renewable energy. In the paper, we address the main challenges for market integration of variable renewable energy, relating to price formation, cost recovery, balancing and other grid services. The paper gives an overview of recent scenario studies on electricity price impacts of (1) various generation, energy storage and demand types in different markets, and (2) different market designs and energy/climate policies. Studying markets with very high shares of variable renewable energy requires an improved set of analysis tools for forecasting market outcomes, estimating flexibility needs and sources, and assessing resource adequacy. Key market features need to be investigated within these improved analytical capabilities for systems transitioning to high shares of variable renewable energy, storage and flexible demand. System services that can be supported by markets will likely need to be revisited. Finally, this paper identifies open questions and suggested future market design work for supporting systems with very high shares of variable renewable energy, which are to be addressed in follow-up work of Task 25 collaborative research.

It is in the nature of chaotic atmospheric processes that weather forecasts will never be perfectly accurate. This natural fact poses challenges not only for private life, public safety, and traffic but also for electrical power systems with high shares of weather-dependent wind and solar power production.

Compared to the onshore, the offshore wind farms have higher capacity factors. These high-capacity factors of the offshore wind farms and different wind conditions on the sea require new innovations to ensure a secure electricity grid. Wind power forecasting is indispensable to improve both the penetration of the wind energy in the energy mix and the economical and technical integration of a large share of the wind energy.

This paper provides an overview of major transmission planning activities related to wind integration studies in the United States and Europe. Transmission planning for energy resources is different from planning for capacity resources. Those differences are explained, and illustrated with examples from several regions of the United States and Europe. Transmission planning for wind is becoming an iterative process consisting of generation expansion planning, economic-based transmission planning, system reliability analysis, and wind integration studies. A brief look at the policy environment in which this activity is taking place is provided. A set of coherent and collaborative transmission planning, siting, and permitting policies and cost allocation method must be developed to achieve the intended objectives. The scale of transmission development envisioned for this purpose will require unprecedented cooperation across multiple jurisdictional boundaries.

Power systems with high wind penetration experience increased variability and uncertainty, such that determination of the required additional operating reserve is attracting a significant amount of attention and research. This paper presents methods used in recent wind integration analyses and operating practice, with key results that compare different methods or data. Wind integration analysis over the past several years has shown that wind variability need not be seen as a contingency event. The impact of wind will be seen in the reserves for non-event operation (normal operation dealing with deviations from schedules). Wind power will also result in some events of larger variability and large forecast errors that could be categorized as slow events. The level of operating reserve that is induced by wind is not constant during all hours of the year, so that dynamic allocation of reserves will reduce the amount of reserves needed in the system for most hours. The paper concludes with recent emerging trends.