Optimal Energy Portfolio Planning for Power System Considering the Impact of Winter Storms

Abstract

Winter storm events in Texas have a low probability of occurring, but their destructive effects are high. Most recently, in 2021, Texas faced a winter outbreak with a record low temperature that lasted from February 11 to February 20. This winter storm leads to the loss of control of the power supply in the state's electric grid, leaving millions in Texas without access to electricity and heat. Texas utilizes several types of generators such as natural gas, coal, wind, hydro, nuclear, and solar. When supplying electricity to people during winter storm outbreaks, it is essential to know the availability percentage of each generator. This project develops an optimization problem for the energy portfolio that incorporates the availability percentage during a winter storm outbreak to find the best energy portfolio for the power system. This project also acknowledges the emissions that each generator produces and aims to reduce emissions for electric power generation while providing electricity from available generators during a winter outbreak.