Photovoltaics as a Long-Term Solution to Power Outages. Case Study: The Great 1996 WSCC Power Outage

The Western System Coordinating Council (WSCC) experienced two major power outages during the summer of 1996. Both outages occurred during extreme heat waves and virtually cloud-free conditions. Focusing on the August 10 outage, we present evidence that dispersed photovoltaic power generation has the potential to mitigate the effects of massive power outages. The authors have previously shownthat PV output is hightly correlated with heat-wave-driven loads (A/C driven loads). The following analysis indicates that the circumstances of the August 10 event are no exception. PV availability was at a maximum and the high loads on the system were directly attributed to the heat wave. The paper presents PV deployment strategies that would serve to mitigate the effects of the outage,initially from the perspective of direct consumer relief. However, as dispersed PV generation saturates the electrical system over the long term, the high load demand match relief could prevent the cascading trips of large generating plants, thereby providing system relief.