Solar and wind energy potential, variability and complementarity with the water infrastructure in New England

Electricity supply in New England region relies on gas, nuclear and hydropower power plants. While gas and nuclear power plants provide base load, current management of hydropower reservoirs is optimized for peak electricity generation and pricing. However, this scheme is likely to be challenged by the on-going development of renewable energy in the region and the resulting changes in pricing patterns. New England has a high (and increasing) rate of private households with installed solar photovoltaic systems and projects for new solar and wind farms, including offshore, are also surging boosted by ambitious renewable energy goals established by political leadership. Such developments are likely to increase the dependence of electricity supply and demand on weather. Given the existing electricity grid, such an increase can lead to unanticipated, undesirable outcomes such as an increase in the energy balance variability leading to an increase in electricity storage (e.g. battery, pumped storage power plants) and transport requirement. The objective of this study is twofold. First, it aims at improving the knowledge of solar and wind (both on-shore and off-shore) power potential across New England, with a special focus on their variability at temporal and spatial scales that are relevant from planning and management of the electricity grid (e.g. from hourly to inter-annual variability and from point scale to regional scale). Second, this study aims at investigating possible complementarity between variable generation from wind and solar with the water infrastructure built along the Connecticut River. We investigate how existing or new hydropower facilities operations, including installed micro-hydropower could facilitate integration of solar and wind power generation and improve the resilience of the future the electricity grid in New England.