The Full Cost of Renewables: Managing Wind Integration Costs in California

Wind power will be an important component of California\u27s aggressive strategies to meet its greenhouse gas reduction targets by the year 2020. However, the costs of integrating wind power\u27s variable and uncertain output are often ignored. I argue that California must take prudent action to understand, minimize, and allocate wind integration costs. A review of numerous studies suggests that for wind penetration levels below 20%, integration costs should remain modest. However, costs are heavily dependent on market structure, and I suggest numerous ways that California can optimize its market design to manage wind integration costs