Understanding How Generation Flexibility and Renewable Energy Affect Power Market Competition
研究不同灵活性水平的传统发电商在电力市场中的供应函数竞争，以及间歇性可再生能源对竞争和电价的影响，发现经典模型高估了竞争强度，经济削减间歇性发电可增强竞争、降低价格波动并提升效率。
We study supply function competition among conventional power generators with different levels of flexibility and the impact of intermittent renewable power generation on the competition. Inflexible generators commit production before uncertainties are realized, whereas flexible generators can adjust their production after uncertainties are realized. Both types of generators compete in an electricity market by submitting supply functions to a system operator, who solves a two-stage stochastic program to determine the production level for each generator and the corresponding market prices. We aim to gain an understanding of how conventional generators’ (in)flexibility and renewable energy’s intermittency affect the supply function competition and the market price. We find that the classic supply function equilibrium model overestimates the intensity of the market competition, and even more so when more intermittent generation is introduced into the system. The policy of economically curtailing intermittent generation intensifies the market competition, reduces price volatility, and improves the system’s overall efficiency. Furthermore, these benefits of economic curtailment are most significant when the production-based subsidies for renewable energy are absent.