Dive Brief:
- Adding Wyoming wind rather than in-state solar to California's resource base would boost capacity and lower variability, according to a new report from the University of Wyoming's Wind Energy Research Center.
- Prepared for Wyoming Infrastructure Authority (WIA), the analysis also finds drought-stricken California would consume less water, emit fewer greenhouse gases and require less power.
- The study used actual one-minute production data from California, combined with data from four operating meteorological towers in Wyoming, to develop its conclusions.
Dive Insight:
The stumbling block for renewables has always been their intermittent nature, and a mismatch between peak production and demand. Storage has become the go-to solution, but a new study from the University of Wyoming offers a detailed look into how disparate-but-complementary geographic locations could offer an alternative.
“Incorporating diverse, cost-effective Wyoming wind into California’s power grid will help California best protect their consumers and enhance their economy,” Loyd Drain, executive director of the Wyoming Infrastructure Authority, said in a statement. “Wyoming energy can help California citizens save literally billions of dollars over time on their electric bills, freeing up such money that can be spent on other goods and services to further benefit California’s economy.”
The study demonstrated that by yearly average, California wind is strongest at night and Wyoming wind is strongest during the day — peaking in the afternoon and coinciding with increased demand.
“By combining different and complementary renewable resources – also called diverse resources – utilities can effectively smooth-out the peaks and valleys of renewable energy production to ensure smoother, less variable and more predictable renewable energy supplies,” WIA said in its press release. “This makes the energy grid easier to balance, minimizes ramping events, and lowers operating costs.”
The study examined one scenario for adding incremental renewables, finding Wyoming wind would yield: a 50% higher capacity factor; a 41% lower relative variability; and increase the amount of time in which power is producing at 25% or greater by 86%.