Wind dominates US power development queue
More wind power is now in the queue for development within North America's organized markets than any other generation source, according to a report by regional grid operators.Wind generation accounts for 124,012 MW in planning, easily outdistancing its nearest competitor, gas-fired generation which represents 89,579 MW, says "Increasing Renewable Resources: How Independent System Operators (ISOs) and Regional Transmission Organizations (RTOs) Are Helping Meet this Public Policy Objective".
Released October 16 by the ISO/RTO Council, the report also says that there is twice as much wind power proposed than coal-fired generation (55,667 MW) in the organized markets. Wind also significantly bests nuclear power proposals (36,047 MW).
The finding is particularly significant because the 10 RTOs/ISOs operate the grid and electricity markets for two-thirds of US electric consumers and just over 40% of Canadian demand.
"The markets supported by the ISOs and RTOs have proven to be fertile ground for the development of renewable resources," the report said. "The success of markets in enabling renewable resources is evidenced by the fact that ISOs and RTOs host 79% of today's installed wind generation, which is well above their 44% share of wind energy potential and 53% share of total North American electricity demand."
Organized markets create a favorable environment for wind power in several ways, such as providing price transparency and encouraging investment by all parties, the report said. They also help foster renewables by working with stakeholders to build new transmission to bring wind power to load centers. And finally, the organized markets provide dispatch in 5- to 15-minute intervals, rather than hourly, which reduces integration costs of wind power.
The report also found that organized markets are advancing state renewable portfolio standards. Four of the ISO/RTOs are planning sufficient resources to the meet the standards and three more are "making significant progress."
The report is available at: www.isorto.org.