Modeling of wind parks at ERCOT

Wind Power is well on its way to being a major contributor to the energy pool in bulk power interconnections all over the world. With most of these interconnections and the member organizations setting ambitious goals for expansion of renewable generation and wind power in particular in their energy portfolios, the importance of proper modeling and representation of the dynamic response of wind parks both in the Planning and the Operations horizons cannot be stressed enough. This paper provides an overview of the experience at ERCOT in modeling wind parks and performing associated transmission system studies. Over the years, multiple wind machine types from different manufacturers have been included in the ERCOT dynamic data set. Wind capacity has increased from just around 1 GW in 2003 to over 9 GW in 2011; with potential grow to 18 GW in the near future.