# Costs for Integrating Wind into the Future ERCOT System with Related Costs for Savings in $$CO_2$$ Emissions

 Title: Costs for Integrating Wind into the Future ERCOT System with Related Costs for Savings in $$CO_2$$ Emissions Author: Sluzas, Nora A.; Lu, Xi; McElroy, Michael Brendon Note: Order does not necessarily reflect citation order of authors. Citation: Lu, Xi, Michael B. McElroy, and Nora A. Sluzas. 2011. Costs for integrating wind into the future ERCOT system with related costs for savings in $$CO_2$$ emissions. Environmental Science and Technology 45(7): 3160-3166. Full Text & Related Files: Lu_CostsIntegrating.doc (683.0Kb; Microsoft Word)  Lu_CostsIntegrating.pdf (801.0Kb; PDF) Abstract: Wind power can make an important contribution to the goal of reducing emissions of $$CO_2$$. The major problem relates to the intrinsic variability of the source and the difficulty of reconciling the supply of electricity with demand particularly at high levels of wind penetration. This challenge is explored for the case of the ERCOT system in Texas. Demand for electricity in Texas is projected to increase by approximately 60% by 2030. Considering hourly load data reported for 2006, assuming that the pattern of demand in 2030 should be similar to 2006, and adopting as a business as usual (BAU) reference an assumption that the anticipated additional electricity should be supplied by a combination of coal and gas with prices, discounted to 2007 dollars of $2 and$6 per MMBTU respectively, we conclude that the bus-bar price for electricity would increase by about 1.1¢/kWh at a wind penetration level of 30%, by about 3.4¢/kWh at a penetration level of 80%. Corresponding costs for reductions in $$CO_2$$ range from $20/ton to$60/ton. A number of possibilities are discussed that could contribute to a reduction in these costs including the impact of an expanded future fleet of electrically driven vehicles. Published Version: doi: 10.1021/es103948t Terms of Use: This article is made available under the terms and conditions applicable to Open Access Policy Articles, as set forth at http://nrs.harvard.edu/urn-3:HUL.InstRepos:dash.current.terms-of-use#OAP Citable link to this page: http://nrs.harvard.edu/urn-3:HUL.InstRepos:10001143

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Peer reviewed scholarly articles from the Faculty of Arts and Sciences of Harvard University

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