The Wheatridge Renewable Energy Facility in Oregon represents something different.
Instead of being a single source, the facility includes all three sources on the same site.
It includes 300 MW of wind, 50 MW of solar, and 30 MW of battery storage; the description calls it the first utility-scale renewable energy facility of this type in North America.
Combining wind, solar, and battery storage in one location solves only part of the problem.
The real issue here is whether you can use these resources together as a coordinated power plant based on your current conditions on the grid.
More renewable resources did not solve the problem
When it comes to creating electricity, wind cannot do so as desired.
Neither can solar. One relies upon weather conditions. The other relies upon sunshine.
Battery storage provides an additional choice.
Energy created at any given point in time can be saved and then reused at some later point in time.
Those variables were incorporated into the solution.
Rather than treating wind, solar, and storage as individual projects, the facility was designed as a single system.
Each resource helped compensate for the limitations of the others.
Generating electricity was only half of the battle.
Variable renewable resources can present challenges for grid operators if they are not properly coordinated.
The Wheatridge Team recognized several objectives.
These included reducing intermittency, managing battery state-of-charge, accounting for transmission restrictions, and helping operators incorporate variable resources into the grid.
That means the project required more than equipment; it required coordination.
Three separate systems had to start behaving as one
From a distance, the facility contains numerous types of energy producing devices.
There are wind turbines. There is solar generation. There is battery storage.
The challenge of designing was making all three function like one device instead of three separate ones.
NextEra Energy Resources developed the coordination and optimization approach used to manage the different resources as a single operation.
To achieve that objective, the project utilized forecasting, interconnections between data of each asset, and optimization tools that would assess generation, demand, and system constraints.
The priority of the operating strategy was ensuring that the grid had access to electricity generated by the wind resources.
At the same time, the project sought to minimize losses in solar generation.
Those losses can occur when too much electricity is produced at once, and transmission equipment cannot handle the additional output.
Battery storage was utilized to help move energy to times when it would be more beneficial while limiting unnecessary battery charging cycles.
The system also looked further ahead than most.
A longer planning horizon revealed new opportunities
Looking further ahead also became part of the strategy.
By extending the analysis period from 24 hours to 72 hours, the project found opportunities to store excess energy.
That energy could then be returned to the grid when demand increased, or renewable generation declined.
Producing electricity was not the only goal of this facility.
This facility was also designed to determine when to store, shift, and transmit electricity to and from the grid.
Utilities are watching for a reason beyond renewable generation
U.S. Department of Energy is supporting demonstration projects focused on how power systems can continue operating reliably as larger amounts of wind, solar, and battery resources contribute to overall generation.
Wheatridge is being monitored by the U.S. Department of Energy because of issues that go beyond a singular site in Oregon.
One of those demonstration projects is focusing specifically on the Wheatridge facility.
The project is being used to explore how larger amounts of renewable generation can be integrated while maintaining reliable grid operation.
The ultimate goal is not merely to develop renewable power, but also to demonstrate how these resources can support grid services and ensure reliability.
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