Integrating Southwest Power Pool Wind to Southeast Electricity ...

Table 5-15
Change in generation for Scenario 3 with low gas prices
The change in generation between Scenarios #3 and #2 with low gas prices is given in Table
5-16. There is now very little difference in CC usage; most of the benefits that come from
moving to larger reserve sharing areas now comes from the fact that this allows a reduction in
less efficient GTs and increase in coal. This results in small increases in generation in SPP and
the SERC non-wind regions, with a decrease in TVA and SBA where GTs had been providing
significant amounts of energy. Comparing this with Table 5-10, it can be seen that there is now
far less difference between scenarios; the benefits of cooperating across the footprint is reduced
as costs are more equal throughout the region with coal and gas being somewhat similar. There is
still a small move to more efficient (in the model) CC in SPP compared to CC elsewhere, but
total CC usage is not decreased as gas prices are so low that this is not as desirable as it was with
higher gas prices.
Table 5-16
Change in generation Scenario 3 vs. 2 low gas price
The net effect of reduced gas prices on cost is to reduce the cost difference from approx.
$0.7/MWh to approx. $0.25/MWh, a factor of three. The benefits now are not in being able to
switch from CC usage to coal when sharing reserve requirements, but the less attractive (as less
MWh) benefits of switching from GTs to coal and being able to use the more efficient coal and
CC units. It is unclear how increasing relative costs of coal (by having carbon price for example)
may affect these results. Coal may be reduced further, and shared reserve requirements may
allow greater usage of CC, but that has not been modeled.
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