Flexible Infrastructure — A Necessary Ingredient for the Renewable Energy Future

As the penetration of installed variable renewable generation continues to grow around the world, the operational cycle of traditional conventional generation technology may be required to change considerably in response to an increase in the net load variability which a power system experiences. Many different solutions have been proposed to supplement the ramping capacity in a system over a variety of time scales. This panel session will explore some of these flexible resource options including: demand response, energy storage, flexible mid-merit and peaking generators, upgrading existing generation to increase flexibility, increased transmission between regions and the ability to control the renewable plant themselves. It will examine how these resources currently are operated, how they participate in energy and ancillary service markets, and how this may change in a future with high variable renewable resources.