2.3 Power Pool Reliability 2.3.1 Introduction and Summary Whenever a large conventional generator is added to a power pool there can be a significant impact on the adequacy of the total system to meet the expected load at the design level of the reliability. The interface between the new generator and the grid must be carefully designed so as to minimize any negative impacts on the system. The large size and unconventional nature of the SPS makes the design of the interface more important than usual. Because of the limited resources available for this study not all of these problems have been examined in depth. However, some of the critical issues can and have been investigated. Electric power networks are designed to provide reliable power to the consumer with redundant installations of reliable equipment. Given the nature and size of conventional equipment, it is technically and economically feasible to provide a system that will meet the demand except for 1 day in 10 years. The Loss of Load Probability (LOLP) is, therefore, 0.1 day/year. The use ot a 5 GW SPS to meet the demand for power could either reduce the system reliability (increase the LOLP) or, for the same reliability, increase the required amount of redundant equipment. This section discusses the impact on a power pool's total required installed capacity of installing one or more SPSs each with a generating capacity of 5 GWe instead of a number of conventional generating plants each with a generation capacity of 1 GWe. The analysis concerned primarily with the size of the proposed SPS and, therefore, most of the results would apply equally well to a 5 GWe terrestrial plant. The results indicate that whenever a 5 GWe generator is used instead of five 1 GWe generators (no change in the forced outage rate) an additional one to two gigawatts ($125 to $250 million) of
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