Western Wind and Solar Integration Study Phase 2: Preprint

The Western Wind and Solar Integration Study (WWSIS) investigates the impacts of high penetrations of wind and solar power into the Western Interconnection of the United States. WWSIS2 builds on the Phase 1 study but with far greater refinement in the level of data inputs and production simulation. It considers the differences between wind and solar power on systems operations. It considers mitigation options to accommodate wind and solar when full costs of wear-and-tear and full impacts of emissions rates are taken into account. It determines wear-and-tear costs and emissions impacts. New data sets were created for WWSIS2, and WWSIS1 data sets were refined to improve realism of plant output and forecasts. Four scenarios were defined for WWSIS2 that examine the differences between wind and solar and penetration level. Transmission was built out to bring resources to load. Statistical analysis was conducted to investigate wind and solar impacts at timescales ranging from seasonal down to 5 minutes