Enabling the Future Grid: An Analysis of Operational and Flexibility Issues in the Indian Power Grid

The Indian power system is expected to integrate large amounts of renewable energy resources in the near future. However, the characteristics of renewable energy resources differ greatly from conventional energy resources. Integrating large quantities of renewable resources therefore warrants enhancements and modifications to current practices as the current Indian power system lacks sufficient operational services that protect the grid against contingencies. This dissertation aims to analyze the operational and flexibility needs of the Indian grid to accommodate diverse and new energy sources. The first part of the dissertation analyzes the operational issues in the current power system. The Indian power system is restricted to a few services to support grid operation, which is primarily balancing demand and supply, in real-time. The different enhancements to the current balancing mechanism have varying impacts on the demand and supply balance, and this is reflected in the grid frequency. Therefore, the grid frequency under different balancing mechanism is modeled to understand the impacts. The results indicate that improving primary frequency response from generators along with a revision of the current prices is the most effective strategy. Next, given the current conditions that exist in the grid, a feasible load balancing mechanism is analyzed to understand the related benefits and costs. While the first part of the dissertation analyzes grid level impacts of different balancing mechanisms, the second part explores a service that should be implemented by the electric system operator to support grid balancing. The results indicate that the proposed mechanism is beneficial in reducing real-time emergency events by 55% at a power purchase cost increase of 3.5%. In addition to services, the system operators and regulators must ensure that there are sufficient flexible resources that can support the variability and uncertainty in the grid. The third part of the dissertation analyzes the impact of different generation scenarios on power system operation and reliability. The section highlights the need for flexible resources to counter the uncertainty and variability of renewable energy resources. In essence, the dissertation aims to encourage a rigorous approach to planning and policy making with regards to renewable energy integration.