NERC report analyzes reliability issues facing energy industry
The Atlanta, Georgia-based North American Electric Reliability Corporation (NERC) released a report recently that assessed the principal challenges regarding bulk power system reliability.
The report found that dependency on natural gas, distributed energy resources and changes in the resource mixture were the most pressing issues.
Other issues included a contraction of planning reserve margins and growing uncertainty about the future of nuclear power.
NERC found that reserve margins are adequate for the next five years in most parts of North America. However, in some areas reliability concerns may surface sooner.
For example, the report said unconfirmed retirements totaling 3.3 gigawatts (GW) and 7 GW in the Midcontinent Independent System Operator (MISO) and Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT) areas respectively occur as early as 2018 and could compromise resource adequacy without the needed replacement capacity.
In addition, Wind and solar are expected to supply an additional 24 percent of all added resources by 2026, which presents a new challenge to the industry.
“The rapid changes in the resource mix means NERC and industry must examine reliability during periods that will critically stress the system, including those hours when demand is low and contribution from wind and solar is high,” John Moura, director of Reliability Assessment and System Analysis, said. “Planning for resources that are variable in nature and connect to the grid asynchronously require different approaches to assure future grid reliability.”
The report also found that cheap natural gas prices threaten the competitiveness of nuclear energy, which may lead to the retirement of nuclear facilities.
The researchers recommend that policy makers and transmission planners work together to create plans to influence the changing resource mix, as well as the introduction of new reliability measures and more advanced data collection methods.
