An Integrated Platform for Wind Power Plant Operations: From Atmosphere to Electrons to the Grid (A2e2g)

The research objective for this Atmosphere to Electrons to Grid (A2e2g) project was to design a platform that merges forecasting tools with aerodynamic and economic models to maximize a wind plant's value streams for energy and grid services. The value proposition is that expanding wind plant operation to include grid services allows wind plants to operate in markets for grid services as well as energy markets, increasing revenue streams for wind plant operators while contributing to reliable grid operation. The A2e2g project consists of a platform that integrates 1) forecasting tools to account for weather uncertainty, with 2) aerodynamic wind plant models to account for wake dynamics and wind plant operation, and 3) economic models to advise on operation for a wind power plant that offers grid services in addition to energy. The A2e2g platform is a holistic Python tool with modules that can be run to 1) advise on market participation and 2) control and operate a wind power plant in real time. Figure E-2 shows the different components of the A2e2g platform. The A2e2g framework assumes two stages: the first stage is in day-ahead and the second stage is in real-time. Managing uncertainty is key in the first stage and managing variability is key in the second stage. Detailed descriptions of each component can be found in the main body of the report. The different components have models written and developed in the Python programming language. The code is assembled into a Python package and can be easily downloaded and installed from the A2e2g repository (https://github.com/NREL/a2e2g). The code is open-source and free to use.