Ludington Pumped Storage Plant and Wind Power

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Ludington Pumped Storage Plant and Wind Power

• Operational Considerations

David Lapinski Consumers Energy Company June 16,
2009
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Summary

• Ludington Plant Overview
• Operational Characteristics
• Past Current Use
• Impacts of increasing wind generation

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Ludington Pumped Storage Plant
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Ludington Pumped Storage Plant

• In operation since 1973
• Jointly owned by Consumers Energy and The Detroit
  Edison Company
• Pond is 2.5 miles x 1 mile
• Six reversible pump turbines
• 360 feet from Lake Michigan to full pond level
• 27 billion gallons H2O

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LPS Operation
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Ludington Well connected to transmission system
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LPS Key Operating Parameters

• 1872 MW Generating capacity
• 1960 MW Pumping
• 15000 MWh generation storage
• 70 cycle efficiency
• Generators quick start regulation capable
• Pumps quickly interruptible

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Historic and Current Operational Uses

• Economic alternative to more expensive generation
  to meet load
• If value of generation gt 1.4 times cost of
  pumping
• Ancillary Services flexible response to
  operational uncertainties

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Managing Stored Energy is Important

• Predictability of Cost Value

• Strategy for economic value, with room for
  contingencies

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Potential Impacts of Increased Wind Energy

• Reduced predictability
• Increased variation in supply-demand balance
• Other resources required to compensate for longer
  duration variations (10s of minutes to hours)
• Potential for increased need for ramping capacity
  intermediate term reserves capacity

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Storage Technologies Have a Role

• For short term replacement and balancing, pumped
  storage can fill in
• rapid response for ramping and contingencies
• economic generation to buy time for longer lead
  time units to come on line
• absorb excess generation

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Additional Considerations

• Reliance on accurate wind generation forecasts
• Storage Management
• Overall system optimization
• Optimum storage management changes
• May require decreasing daily budget of energy
  available to day ahead market
• Limits on ability to cycle pumped storage units
  to compensate for variations.
• Pump mode startup is limited