Ontario's Independent Electricity System Operator (IESO) will introduce a new dispatch tool for all grid-connected wind resources. The ability to dispatch wind, scheduled to take effect September 11, 2013, comes at a pivotal point in Ontario's transition to a more sustainable fuel mix. By February 2015, an expected 7,400MW of wind and solar power will be connected across the distribution and transmission networks.
This new capability adds an important lever to the reliable operation of the bulk power system. It gives operators another source of flexibility to meet ramping requirements as demand for electricity increases and decreases over the day, and to manage surplus baseload generation (SBG). The dispatch will apply to 1,725MW of existing transmission-connected wind resources as well as an estimated 3,000MW of transmission-connected wind and 280MW of transmission- connected solar expected to come into service over the next 18 months. Distribution-based wind and solar facilities, forecast to total almost 2,400MW during this period, will not be subject to grid dispatch, but the output from those facilities will now be visible to the IESO's system operators. The enhancements also include wind forecasting to assist in planning and executing daily operations.
