The merits of integrating renewables with smarter grid carimet
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A critical look at the response a grid will need with increasing penetration levels of Variable Renewable Resouces (VRRs) on a grid and the SMART solutions required to maintain grid stability.
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The merits of integrating renewables with smarter grid carimet
- 1. The Merits of Integrating Renewables with Smarter Grid Systems CARIMET Regional Workshop on Metrology and Technology Challenges of Climate Science and Renewable Energy April 15, 2015 Rick Case PMP, P.E. SCADA/EMS Manager JAMAICA PUBLIC SERVICE CO. LTD rcase@jpsco.com
- 2. Jamaican Context - About JPS • Est. 1923 • Ownership: EWP (Korea) 40% Marubeni (Japan) 40%, GOJ ~ 20% • Vertically Integrated Utility - Sole Transmission and Distribution, Liberalized Generation • Installed Capacity: ~ 900 MW (JPS + IPP), Fossil, Hydro, Wind • Peak Demand: ~ 644 MW, September 2009 • Approximately 16,000 km of T&D, 138kV and 69kV, 55 Substations, 28 Generating Plants • Customer base: ~ 604,000 • Staff: ~ 1600
- 3. Context • Globally, significant investments are being done in renewable energy technologies driven by efforts to decarbonize the planet • The variable nature of their generation poses integration challenges, renewable energy by itself, will not keep the lights on! • Grid modernization has to take place in concert with the rapid deployment of these variable renewable resources (VRR) • Balancing resources – integrating large-scale and small distributed energy resources (DER) • Smarter Grids enable higher penetrations of VRR on T&D networks
- 4. Jamaican Context – Energy Policy 2009-2030 • Reduce the over-dependence on imported oil for electricity production – JPS at 90% oil fired • Requires a diversified energy base with focus on “green” and “clean” technologies • Requires reduction of our carbon footprint and protection of the environment • Promotion of energy efficiency and energy conservation and grid modernization to accommodate these goals • Requires that by 2030, renewables (solar, hydro, wind, biofuel) will be 20% of the energy mix. • No objection for renewable plants < 15 MW (base operating cost and negotiable premium cap) • Competitive basis for renewable plants >= 15 MW through the OUR process
- 5. Jamaican Context – Energy Policy 2009-2030 RE penetration will be 12.5% in 2015 • If energy demand levels 2013 to 2015 remain flat, renewables will provide over 17% of the required energy by 2015
- 6. The Jamaican Context – Renewable Energy Capacity Penetration • Total MCR = 900 MW • Existing RE capacity = 7.5% • VRR (Wind) = 4.5% • Projected RE Capacity = 16% • VRR (Wind + Solar) = 13% Research indicates that in most large scale grid systems, VRR < 10% of peak capacity has little impact on system operation. Larger Shares will present challenges for System Operators. Wind Energy and Power Systems Operations: A review of Wind Integration Studies to Date” The Electricity Journal, Vol 22, Issue 10, 34-43. Peak Min Demand (MW) 600.0 400.0 Wind Capacity % 16.5% 24.8% Solar Capacity % 3.3% 5.0% TOTAL 19.8% 29.8% P E A K MIN 16.5% 24.8% 3.3% 5.0% 19.8% 29.8% RE CAPACITY PENETRATION AT ON-PEAK AND OFF-PEAK Wind Capacity % Solar Capacity % TOTAL
- 7. The Jamaican Context – Renewable Energy Penetration • Total Projected Energy = 4113 GWh • Projected RE Energy = 17.3% • VRR (Wind + Solar) = 7.5% Technology GWh Capacity (MW) CapFact Existing - Hydro 148.44 25.82 66% Existing - Wind 109.71 41.00 31% RFP Firm 212.08 37.00 65% RFP Energy only 204.87 78.00 30% Maggotty Exp. (est) 34.69 6.00 66% TOTAL 709.80 187.82 43% % E NE RGY S H A RE 3.61 2.67 5.16 4.98 0.84 17.26 RE PENETRATION - PROJECTED ENERGY Existing - Hydro Existing - Wind RFP Firm RFP Energy only Maggotty Exp. (est) TOTAL
- 8. Jamaica Load Profile and Capacity • Evening Peak, Highest energy demand is in Day • Demand met by load- following dispatchable base- load plant - ELD • Quick-Start CT’s brought online for short term capacity shortfall or peaking • High Spinning Reserves during low loads • Most dispatched capacity is fixed/flexible mix – MR, FD • Current demand intermittency is absorbed by spinning reserves – 29 MW Committed Capacity vs System Demand 200 300 400 500 600 12:30 AM 5:30 AM 10:30 AM 3:30 PM 8:30 PM Time Load/Capacity(MW) Capacity Demand
- 9. Integrating Intermittent Renewable Resources – Illustration “Duck Curve” Impact upon Net Thermal Output Growing Need for Flexibility as Renewables Increase Demand Curve w/Solar & Wind Generation Source: CAISO, “2020 Flexible Capacity Needs” Note Three key take-aways: 1. Ramping demands 2. Over-Generation 3. Declining Marginal Value
- 10. Overview of presentation • A brief look at Integrating Variable Renewable Resources (VRR) • The main challenges posed by VRR integration and applicable SMART GRID Systems that contribute to overcoming these challenges • Integration and Activation of various SMART GRID solutions • Alignment of SMART GRID development with Renewable Energy Development • Conclusion • Recommendation
- 11. Smart Grid and VRR’s • What share of VRR is possible with more effective use of existing flexible resources? No one size fits all, careful studies and simulations are necessary. • Integrated Resource Planning using, for example, the Flexibility Assessment (FAST) method developed by the IEA’s Grid Integration of Variable Renewables (GIVAR) project. • IEA identifies four technical flexibility resources that can aid in the integration challenge: • Dispatchable plants: Load-Following Generators with ramp-up/ramp-down and short start-up/shut-down times • Storage: batteries, pumped hydro, compressed air, flywheels • Interconnection: to neighbouring utilities/systems • Demand-Side measures: Customer participation in power system operation – load shifting, load shedding etc., SMART-GRID Technologies are integral components
- 12. Flexibility needs and Flexible resources – IEA Framework • Smart Grid Systems and Technologies play a role in: • Demand Side Management & Response • Energy Storage Facilities • Power Market • System Operations • Grid hardware • Other Smart Grid Technologies • PHEV’s charging • Modernizing grid Operations through Advanced SCADA/EMS • Inclusive power markets, storage and demand side resources for balancing • Establishment of micro-grids during outages on the main grid
- 13. VRR Integration Challenges and Smart Grid Solutions • “A Smart Grid is an electricity network that can intelligently integrate the actions of all users connected to it – generators, consumers and those that do both – in order to efficiently deliver sustainable, economic and secure electricity supplies” – European Technology Platform Smart Grid (ETPSG) NIST Conceptual Reference Model
- 14. Flexibility is the Answer! • Flexibility expresses the extent to which a power system can modify electricity production or consumption in response to variability, expected or otherwise • Curtailing the VRR output when necessary to prevent surplus NIST Conceptual Reference Model
- 15. Key VRR Integration Challenges and Smart Grid Solutions • Integration Challenges • Transmission • General Ramping Requirements • Near Instantaneous Production Ramps • Over-Generation • Proposed Response to VRR Integration Challenges: • Smart Grid Tools • Markets Tools • System Operations Tools • Other
- 16. Transmission • Siting of VRR are often times located at a significant distances from load centres. Cost of new transmission or limits on existing lines may pose challenges to additional VRR generation. • Smart grid technologies, especially advanced transmission and substation technologies, can aid in this challenge by increasing transmission line capacity, reducing system losses, and improving voltage and frequency control NIST Conceptual Reference Model
- 17. Dynamic Line Rating systems provide real-time ratings of transmission circuit capacity through monitoring of transmission line sags. Wide-Area Situational Awareness and Phasor Measurement Units increase the visibility of grid system health and the power quality impacts of renewable energy generation. Voltage Source Converter-based High-Voltage DC transmission systems increase the efficiency of large-scale onshore and offshore VRR electricity delivery. Flexible AC Transmission systems (FACTS) enable the full use of circuit capacity while maintaining system stability and providing voltage support Market Tools Pricing systems that incorporate the cost of congestion (nodal pricing, Locational Marginal Pricing) can send price signals that incentivize adequate investment in transmission expansion. Advanced simulation systems, including probabilistic tools for improved load forecasting, assist in optimizing power flow over the grid. Larger balancing areas, cross-border interconnections, and better balancing-area coordination can ease transmission constraints. Transitioning from day-ahead unit commitment and hourly dispatch down to five minute dispatch intervals removes constraints on generation flexibility and reduces demand for regulation service. “Reconductoring” with new low-sag conductors can increase line capacities without need for replacing a line with a higher voltage design. New transmission lines can be constructed, using either conventional AC or High-Voltage DC at current or higher voltages. Smart Grid Tools System Operation Tools Other Tools Transmission Solutions
- 18. General Ramping Requirements • System operators “ramp” the output of generators in response to the demand for electricity, a vital grid function known as “load- following.” • Conventional ramping is normally due to fluctuations in electricity demand, high penetration of VRR adds a new variability to this convention and the unique patterns present different ramping challenges. • High Penetration Solar requires daily (morning and evening) ramping as well as cloud cover changes. • Wind Power generally increases during the day and dies down in the evening, but has less predictable up-and-down-ramping requirements
- 19. Solutions for General Ramping Challenges Market Tools Introduction of imbalance energy markets or competitive load-following services aim to increasing compensation for ancillary services, such as ramping capacity. Market mechanisms can provide incentives for fast-start and fast ramping capabilities Expanded balancing areas and coordination with neighboring balancing authorities can play a key role in reducing the volatility of overall net ramping requirements. Better wind and solar forecasting allow for better scheduling in the day-ahead and hourly markets. Improved Energy Management Systems, including load forecasting, load dispatch with Advanced EMS, and virtual power plants, can provide more responsive system operation Conventional solutions for meeting load-following needs include large hydro and cycling thermal generators (e.g. natural gas and coal). Retrofits and procurement of new generation such as large hydro or pumped-storage plants can provide greater flexibility and performance Smart Grid Tools System Operation Tools Other Tools In conjunction with appropriate market design and utility programs, demand response and demand-side storage capabilities -- e.g. thermal mass, process mass, water heaters, chilled water storage, and dimmable ballast lighting -- can provide load-following services.
- 20. Near-Instantaneous Production Ramps • High-Penetrations of Solar present integration challenges, the passage of clouds over PV panels can result in output changes of +/- 50% in 60 seconds and +/- 70% in 10 minutes. • Rooftop or utility-scale PV connected directly to the distribution system can introduce voltage challenges. Quick variations from inverter-based generation can impact the voltage to customers if adequate voltage regulation is absent. • Siting of a single large solar installation at the end of a distribution feeder can strain the entire voltage regulation scheme. • Generally, the Response-Time for Voltage Regulation is critical.
- 21. Solutions for Near-Instantaneous production ramps Volt & var optimization systems facilitate voltage regulation in areas of high penetration of distributed generation, and also enable PV installations to contribute to voltage regulation. Fault Detection Identification and Restoration (FDIR) technologies are used to quickly detect outages and restore service. Transfer trip schemes allow for proper disconnection and reconnection of distributed generation when an outage is detected. Automation of reclosers and switches allows distributed generation and/or utility-scale battery storage to island load during outage. Active power electronics in conjunction with smart meters can also mitigate rapid production ramps. Coupling new PV inverters and power quality monitoring systems can minimize feeder voltage fluctuations. Short term load management from the distribution system operator may help reducing the impact of voltage fluctuations. Market Tools No Market tools are available for distribution-level ancillary services such as voltage regulation. Smart Grid Tools System Operation Tools Other Tools Distribution Management Systems (DMS) integrate grid-monitoring applications to support operation of the grid, allowing improved visualization of the distribution network state, and facilitating fault detection, isolation, restoration and voltage regulation with strong simulation capabilities Upgrading distribution feeders to a higher voltage or conductor replacement are standard tools, as is the modification of relays and transformers in distribution substations to limit the impact of reverse power flow or to improve voltage regulation
- 22. Over-Generation • Over-generation typically occurs when VRR generation is high, loads are relatively low, and there is a significant share of non-dispatchable and baseload conventional generation on the grid • The challenge is more common with wind generation in low-load situations
- 23. Solutions for over-generation In conjunction with high-quality forecasting, demand response can serve as a load-shifting resource to absorb excess generation. For example, PHEVs can be pre-charged during excess wind generation; ice can be made for building HVAC, and industrial refrigerators can be pre- cooled. In the residential sector, electric thermal storage systems (e.g. electric water heaters) have been used to absorb excess generation, and new devices on the market offer improved two-way communication capabilities. The use of heat pumps, smart thermostats, and Home Energy Management Systems for pre-heating and pre-cooling of homes is also envisioned in the mid- term to absorb excess wind energy. Large industrial loads such as aluminum smelting can also be varied to match VRR excess energy and other system needs Market Tools Market design that allows greater customer participation in the energy market can minimize lost revenues due to curtailment Expanded balancing areas and coordination with neighboring balancing authorities can play a key role in reducing net over-generation. Improved energy management systems with load forecast, load dispatch with Advanced EMS, and virtual power plants, can help mitigate over-generation impacts Other Tools Curtailment of VRR generators is a standard method for dealing with over-generation. Ramping thermal units down is another standard method. Using large hydro or pumped storage may provide long term storage for excess wind generation, as well as for sustained periods of under- generation Smart Grid Tools System Operation Tools
- 24. Integrating Solutions • The design of smart grid systems to enable greater VRR generation should be driven by analysis of the types, timing, and magnitude of grid challenges posed by the portfolio of VRR sources on each individual grid, as well as the relative cost of the potential solutions – IEA FAST method • The key challenge for decision-makers (i.e. system or market operators) is to prioritize and implement the appropriate mix of integration solutions detailed above given the specific grid topology, current and future VRR mix, and market structure • The economics of flexible resources are unique to each electricity market and regulatory landscape, and conducting resource assessments and simulations will be critical to estimating the most cost-effective path to integrating large penetration of VRRs
- 26. Activating demand-side intelligence • Smart grids can enable greater customer participation in power system operations. • By sending real-time information on cost of electricity, or offering information about real-time incentive payments, engaged customers and grid-networked housing and commercial buildings can participate in reducing stress on the network caused by system events, such as increasing peak demand or VRR integration events • Enabling demand to actively respond to load and price conditions can have a dramatic impact on the integration of VRRs. NIST Conceptual Reference Model
- 27. Primary Characteristics of Traditional vs. Smart Grid Demand Response Conventional DR Smart-Grid DR Participation Targeted, Limited to large C/I & residential All Customers Who Controls Utility Customers What is Controlled Interruptible Rates, Residential HVAC, Water Heating All Loads Available Control Equipment Utility provided, Few Suppliers Customer Provided, many market suppliers Incentives Fixed/Participation Payments, Baseline Metrics Retail Dynamic Prices, Reservation Payments, Pay-for performance DR products Generally limited to Reliability Capacity, Energy, Ancillary Services: Congestion Management DR, EE, Renewable Integration NO YES
- 28. Activating delivery-side intelligence • Dynamic Line Rating: lines are given a static thermal capacity rating that limits how much current can be delivered across the line formulated from ambient temp and current flow. • Sag in transmission lines affect the amount of current flow as well as ambient weather. • A cloud shadowing can increase line capacity by 3% and wind speed and direction can impact capacity by up to 10% • “Dynamic line rating” systems consist of tension and/or temperature sensors deployed on high- voltage transmission lines to provide grid operators real time insights into thermal capacity. Such intelligence can allow for greater amounts of electricity to be delivered, which at times can reduce the level of curtailment of VRRs
- 29. Activating Markets • Market Design and Structure is critical to integration and economics and ensures Supply and Demand are balanced on a scale of minutes, not hours. • What market system exists? Is the electricity generation deregulated? Who owns the T&D? How do you incentivize participation? • IT improves the ability of markets to accommodate complex power flows and economic dispatch and real time price/cost communication • Smart Grid technology brings the customers, storage facilities, DER’s together for greater market participation, especially in the near-term. • Flexible DER are required in sub-hourly dispatch, day-ahead and long term capacity NIST Conceptual Reference Model
- 30. Enabling Distributed Generation & Microgrids • Planned islanding can now be introduced and integrated with system protection • Microgrids are defined as electrical systems that include multiple loads and distributed energy resources that may be operated either interconnected with the grid or as an electrical island • Applicable to rural areas or large residential subdivisions, corporate campuses, hotel zones • Microgrid Controller takes over the job of the system controller to maintain power quality (voltage, frequency etc.,), balance of generation and load
- 31. Integrated System Control Room • Full operational view of Transmission and Distribution systems • Integrated EMS and DMS • DMS function now critical as DER’s are deployed, active control of the distribution is essential with storage, generation and load. Advanced Applications and Simulation will be necessary to improve visibility and control over the resources. • At the transmission level, EMS are managing both conventional and VRR, active demand response, storage devices and safety. The EMS will have to control the DMS and DER’s directly in daily operations
- 32. Transmission Control Room Improvements • High resolution visualization of grid status and health • Automated Demand Management • Algorithms that identify intermittency events • Integrated forecasting software that allows for more accurate dispatch • Ability to manage the connection or disconnection of micro-grids • Work force demographics and skills
- 33. Conclusion • What is the regionally-appropriate sequence and priority of smart grid applications needed to facilitate the development of high-penetration VRR power systems? • What types of policy frameworks best engage customers in participatory energy markets? • What is the regionally-appropriate model for renewable energy development (e.g. what share of VRR resources should be distributed?) • What smart-grid VRR integration solutions are most strongly affected by institutional barriers? Market barriers? What policy changes would mitigate these barriers?
- 34. Recommendation • Ensure alignment between smart grid roadmaps and scenarios for future renewable energy supply • Evaluate smart grid VRR integration solutions in the context of the full range of integration solutions • Integrated Resource Planning to: • Establish the existing flexibility of the grid to integrate new resources • Determine the optimal size and sites for renewable energy projects (resources) • Ensure grid sustainability through generation units with appropriate ramp and frequency stability capabilities • Facilitate better collaboration with customers in Distributive Generation, who are producing electricity and selling back to the grid
- 35. Thank You! Rick Case rcase@jpsco.com References: ISGAN White paper: “Smart Grid Contribution to Variable Renewable Resource Integration”, 25 April 2012 Ministry of Energy and Mining, “National Renewable Energy Policy 2009-2030”, August 2010 IEA, “Harnessing Variable Renewables, A guide to the Balancing Challenge”, January 2011 US DOE, “Strategies and Decision Support Systems for Integrating Variable Energy Resources in Control Centres for Reliable Grid Operations, Global Best Practices, Examples of Excellence and Lessons Learned”, Lawrence Jones NIST, “Framework and Roadmap for Smart Grid Interoperability Standards”, 1.0. January 2010 Energy Institute at HAAS, “Renewable Integration Challenges create Demand Response Opportunity,” Meredith Fowlie, Sept 2, 2014
Hinweis der Redaktion
- Ramping demands: Increased solar puts stress on the system when the sun rises and sets. Conventional generation must ramp down and up to compensate. Over-generation can be a problem when solar output peaks in the early afternoon if demand levels are modest and inflexible base load generation bumps up against minimum output constraints. Declining marginal value: As the level of renewables penetration (solar in particular) increases, renewable energy output becomes less coincident with peak net load. This drives down the marginal value of the electricity generated, in part by reducing the capacity value of solar on the build margin and in part by driving up the marginal cost of managing variable energy output.
- Power systems must be actively managed to maintain a steady balance between supply and demand. This is already a complex task as demand varies continually. But what happens when supply becomes more variable and less certain, as with some renewable sources of electricity like wind and solar PV that fluctuate with the weather? To what extent can the resources that help power systems cope with the challenge of variability in demand also be applied to variability of supply? How large are these resources? And what share of electricity supply from variable renewables can they make possible? Power systems differ tremendously in design, operation and consumption patterns, in the natural resources that underpin them, the markets they contain, and the transmission grids that bind them together. Furthermore, and as this analysis shows, there is likely to be a wide gap between what is technically possible and what is possible at present. In other words, some systems are better able than others to manage large VRE shares of electricity production, and direct comparison among them of VRE deployment potential from the integration perspective is inappropriate. Integrated Resource Planning using the Flexibility Assessment (FAST) method developed by the IEA’s Grid Integration of Variable Renewables (GIVAR) project. ● Step 1 assesses the maximum technical ability of the four flexible resources to ramp up and down over the balancing time frame.5 This is the Technical Flexible Resource. ● Step 2 captures the extent to which certain attributes of the power area in question will constrain the availability of the technical resource, to yield the Available Flexible Resource. ● Step 3 is to calculate the maximum Flexibility Requirement of the system, which is a combination of fluctuations in demand and VRE output (the net load)6 , and contingencies. ● Step 4 brings together the requirement for flexibility and the available flexible resource to establish the Present VRE Penetration Potential (PVP) of the system in question.
- Grid hardware such as smart grid technologies can play several important roles to balance the fluctuation in “net load.”† Specifically, smart grid technologies are integral components of the categories of “Demand side management and response” and “Energy storage facilities.”
- In light of this definition, smarter grids play a role in several domains within the IEA categorization of flexible resources. We now focus on a deeper discussion of how smart grid applications and technologies could enable power system flexibility in support of VRR integration Jamaica with VRR shares set to exceed 10% in 2016 has to seriously look toward smart grid solutions to maintain safety, security, reliability and economics The challenges presented by VRR integration will vary significantly by region, grid topology, and type of VRR resources on the grid. Consequently, the appropriate portfolio of integration tools will be specific to each grid system. In order to better contextualize smart grid tools within the full toolbox available to system operators, the next section provides a broad overview of key VRR integration challenges and outlines four categories of available tools: smart grid, markets, system operation, and other. ‡
- The integration challenges are taken in the context of other solutions that are available, some which are soft and already available..
- In some instances, the ramping requirements driven by variable generation and variable demand may offset each other, while in other cases they may combine to require even more ramping capacity. Additionally, the interplay between different VRR sources may be important, for example in regions where wind speeds tend to increase in the evening during the same time that solar begins to decrease. In Jamaica there is the potential for interplay between wind and solar peaking at the same time with a great degree of overlap.
- US researchers report roughly 38,000 MW of existing demand response capacity in the United States.[17] Activating demand-side flexibility is not simply a technical question however -- it requires a mix of complementary policy, regulatory, and market measures, which should be coordinated with the desired type of demand-side participation in mind.
- Smart grid technologies and systems can cost-effectively enable demand-side flexibility in several ways. On the one hand, traditional (or managed) DR leverages networks and machine-to-machine communication protocols to manage demand based on real time price and/or load conditions. On the other hand, price-responsive (or active) DR leverages consumer and market participant responses to price in order to shift load. Traditional demand response is centrally controlled by the vertically-integrated utility and has historically focused on reliability operations (e.g. managing load peaks). Price-based demand response, managed through a market with increased customer participation, encompasses a wider range of potential products, potentially playing significant roles in capacity, energy, and ancillary services markets, as well as in congestion management. Automated demand response (“AutoDR” or “ADR”), which facilitates direct communication between building automation systems and electricity markets, is now technologically mature, but focuses mainly on demand response for peak demand reduction. Demonstration of technologies (including AutoDR) for load-following generation are now being conducted in several countries. Active, smart grid–enabled DR promotes greater price-responsiveness of customers and market participants through real-time pricing delivered via machine-to-machine communication, in-home devices, or mobile devices. The magnitude and flexibility of such resources is potentially quite large, but significant hurdles remain to its mainstream adoption in VRR-relevant power market operations – not least of which are uncertainties around likely rates of consumer participation. The critical policy issues facing greater activation of price-responsive, next-generation DR include market design, pricing, rules of participation, and technical resource assessments Sedano, Levy & Goldman, 2010
- The connection of small generators to the grid, such as rooftop PV, combined heat and power, diesel generators, gas turbines, fuel cells, and run-of-the-river hydro, is not a new phenomenon. For safety reasons, the traditional approach in integrating distributed generation is to set the protection and the voltage regulation of the generator to avoid cases of islanding during an outage. Islanding occurs when a generator is running, feeding the customers, while the main source is removed, either intentionally or through an unintentional service outage.
- The adoption of advanced information and communication technologies into grid control rooms is enabling dramatic advances in power system management. Key enabling systems include high-resolution visualization of grid status and health, automated demand management, algorithms that identify critical (i.e. intermittency) events, integrated forecasting software that allows for more accurate market dispatch, and the ability to manage the connection (and disconnection) of large micro-grids
- Considering the strong linkage between VRR and smart grid development and the magnitude of investments at stake, the following recommendations could help decision-makers in defining the appropriate course of action Recommendation 1: Ensure alignment between smart grid roadmaps and scenarios for future renewable energy supply. Smart grid technologies will be an increasingly important resource for integrating both large-scale and distributed renewable energy resources. The specific types of renewable resources to be developed, as well as the target mix of utility-scale and distributed resources, should inform the development of smart grid policies and capital investments. Scenarios that prioritize large-scale VRR will require a special focus on intelligent transmission solutions, while programs that prioritize DER, such as feed-in tariffs for small scale VRR development, will require a special focus on the way distribution networks are upgraded and operated Recommendation 2: Evaluate smart grid VRR integration solutions in the context of the full range of integration solutions. The pathway to successful VRR integration will be highly specific to each region, and will likely include various changes to system operation, power markets, and the cycling of dispatchable power plants. The integration of balancing areas, the development of efficient and open markets, and new or expanded transmission interconnections to dispatchable renewable plants (such as large hydro generators), may all be key candidates for addressing the VRR integration challenge. Smart grid solutions will typically complement these strategies, and in other cases they may represent cost-effective alternatives.