Some Considerations Related to Capacity Credit for Central Station Solar Power Plants

摘要

Solar power plants will incur both mechanical and insolation outages. This work considers the reliability of a solar electric plant by estimating the likelihood that insolation outages will occur on days when system load is likely to be high. Since high electrical load occurs on the hottest days of the year for many utilities (those designated as summer peaking), much insight into solar plant reliability is obtained by analyzing direct normal insolation on these days. The relationship between quantity and reliability of direct normal insolation is examined for sites such as El Paso, Madison, Miami, and Phoenix. The relative impact of mechanical versus insolation specifications is considered for Miami. Finally, the use of geographic dispersion to improve the reliability of electrical generation via solar energy is examined for Phoenix and El Paso. (ERA citation 04:055108)