Evaluating the Impact of Solar Integration on Power System Generation Reliability

In power system planning studies, reliability assessment is crucial. With the increasing integration of renewable energy sources, it has become more important than ever to examine system behavior under a variety of scenarios. This study presents an approach to assess the impact of solar power integration on the reliability of power generating systems, analyzing two key scenarios: the addition of solar energy and the replacement of conventional generation with solar energy. The results demonstrate that increasing solar generation improves system reliability, as indicated by reductions in Loss of Load Expectation (LOLE) and Loss of Energy Expectation (LOEE). In the replacement scenario, initially substituting 10% of conventional generation with solar energy leads to a rise in LOLE and LOEE values; however, as solar penetration further increases, these reliability metrics begin to improve. This suggests that a substantial level of solar penetration is necessary to maintain system reliability when replacing conventional generation.