Date of Award
Spring 5-13-2012
Document Type
Open Access Senior Thesis
Degree Name
Bachelor of Arts
Department
Environmental Analysis
Second Department
Economics
First Thesis Advisor
W. Bowman Cutter
Second Thesis Advisor
John Jurewitz
Rights Information
© 2011 William Savage
Terms of Use & License Information
Abstract
Wind power will be an important component of California's aggressive strategies to meet its greenhouse gas reduction targets by the year 2020. However, the costs of integrating wind power's variable and uncertain output are often ignored. I argue that California must take prudent action to understand, minimize, and allocate wind integration costs. A review of numerous studies suggests that for wind penetration levels below 20%, integration costs should remain modest. However, costs are heavily dependent on market structure, and I suggest numerous ways that California can optimize its market design to manage wind integration costs.
Recommended Citation
Savage, William, "The Full Cost of Renewables: Managing Wind Integration Costs in California" (2012). Pomona Senior Theses. Paper 57.
http://scholarship.claremont.edu/pomona_theses/57
Comments
Senior thesis submitted in December 2011.