Dive Brief:
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In a move to improve grid reliability, the Southwest Power Pool on Friday proposed adopting an effective load carrying capability — or ELCC — accreditation methodology for wind, solar and energy storage resources, and a performance-based accreditation — or PBA — methodology for thermal and other conventional resources.
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The proposed ELCC and PBA methodologies will allow SPP to have a more accurate understanding of which resources will be available when needed based on their past performance, the grid operator said in its proposal filed with the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission.
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SPP’s proposal doesn’t resolve “underlying discriminatory failures” identified in a previous proposal that was rejected by FERC, mainly on procedural grounds, according to advocacy groups. “SPP’s proposal fails to accurately assess the vulnerabilities of aging coal and gas plants — which have failed again and again during recent extreme weather events — and continues to discriminate against cleaner wind and solar resources,” Aaron Stemplewicz, an Earthjustice attorney, said in a statement.
Dive Insight:
Like other grid operators, SPP aims to better assess the reliability and resource adequacy contributions different types of resources can provide.
SPP has been having significant operation issues as its generating fleet has evolved with large amounts of wind generation coming online, according to the grid operator that has a footprint from eastern New Mexico to Montana.
At 9:42 a.m. on June 6, for example, SPP’s wind fleet accounted for 110.6 MW compared to 5,073 MW of accredited capacity, according to the grid operator.
And during Winter Storm Uri in 2021, 13 GW of gas resources were available in SPP compared to 30 GW of accredited capacity and 17 GW of coal resources were operating, down from 22 GW of accredited capacity, according to SPP.
“These factors mandate that SPP adopt a methodology for accrediting capacity that better anticipates the availability of resources based on how they have historically performed during similar periods,” the grid operator said.
At the same time, SPP’s load is growing and its reserve margins are shrinking, intensifying the need to understand how much capacity will be available when needed, according to the grid operator.
SPP’s current accreditation for wind, solar and storage fails to account for their reliability value decreasing as more is added to the grid, according to the grid operator. And its accreditation methodology for conventional resources doesn’t consider historical availability and performance, SPP said.