“Batteries, Transmission Lines, and Wind: How Multi-Regional Spatial and Temporal Power Sharing Could Work” (with Scott Holladay, Timothy Roberson, and Charles Sims)
When multiple regions share an electric grid, a multifaceted problem emerges, which has recently been complicated by the entry of renewable energy infrastructure. We create a spatial dynamic optimal control model where a basal fossil generation plan is expanded to include energy transmission, exogenous/intermittent renewable power, and battery storage. We use this model to characterize the optimal shadow value of battery storage and find that battery charging and transmission are substitutes. Additionally, we find if the transmission constraint is binding, battery charging and transmission capacity are complements. We then investigate how the shadow values and storage-transmission relationships change with non-dispatchable renewable energy. We then apply this model to Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT) where a renewable-rich and demand-poor region (West Texas) is connected to a renewable-poor and demand-rich region (East Texas), using the psuedospectral solver of TomLab to parameterize and disentangle the ongoing issues facing the Texas ERCOT system.