10.1021/acs.est.5b04857.s001
Bandar
Jubran Alqahtani
Bandar
Jubran
Alqahtani
Kyra Moore Holt
Kyra Moore
Holt
Dalia Patiño-Echeverri
Dalia
Patiño-Echeverri
Lincoln Pratson
Lincoln
Pratson
Residential
Solar PV Systems in the Carolinas: Opportunities
and Outcomes
American Chemical Society
2016
electricity
penetration
Duke Energy Carolinas
NPP
DEP
Duke Energy Progress
DEC
region limits PV integration levels
MW
UC
Enabling ramping capability
power plants
CO
PV power output
PV production model
Residential Solar PV Systems
2016-01-08 00:00:00
Journal contribution
https://acs.figshare.com/articles/journal_contribution/Residential_Solar_PV_Systems_in_the_Carolinas_Opportunities_and_Outcomes/2076829
This paper presents a first-order
analysis of the feasibility and
technical, environmental, and economic effects of large levels of
solar photovoltaic (PV) penetration within the services areas of the
Duke Energy Carolinas (DEC) and Duke Energy Progress (DEP). A PV production
model based on household density and a gridded hourly global horizontal
irradiance data set simulates hourly PV power output from roof-top
installations, while a unit commitment and real-time economic dispatch
(UC–ED) model simulates hourly system operations. We find that
the large generating capacity of base-load nuclear power plants (NPPs)
without ramping capability in the region limits PV integration levels
to 5.3% (6510 MW) of 2015 generation. Enabling ramping capability
for NPPs would raise the limit of PV penetration to near 9% of electricity
generated. If the planned retirement of coal-fired power plants together
with new installations and upgrades of natural gas and nuclear plants
materialize in 2025, and if NPPs operate flexibly, then the share
of coal-fired electricity will be reduced from 37% to 22%. A 9% penetration
of electricity from PV would further reduce the share of coal-fired
electricity by 4–6% resulting in a system-wide CO<sub>2</sub> emissions rate of 0.33 to 0.40 tons/MWh and associated abatement
costs of 225–415 (2015$ per ton).