This article somewhat addresses what I am saying about wind posing a problem with frequency control. My knowledge, however, doesn’t come from articles. It comes from me being an expert.
Very interesting post, that. And I do see what you've been driving at better now.
I will guess -- and please correct me if this is inaccurate -- that ERCOT's situation is that their generators (or most of them) are synchronous, that is, their generating rotors (hydro, steam, etc.) are locked to the 60Hz power they produce, and therefore varying load causes them to speed up or slow down, because their speed is regulated dynamically and affected by their load. The same effect that causes a fixed-throttle automobile to slow down going uphill and speed up downhill.
Obviously, there are integral/differential control systems in place to regulate the speed of the generators in the face of changing loads. But a bunch of wind machines, with varying power output based on changing wind speed, are going to play hell with the regulation controls so carefully put in place over the past decades. They add a noise factor into the control system equations.
I'm trying to understand, so please help me here. Does that sound about right?
> My knowledge, however, doesn’t come from articles. It comes from me being an expert.
That's why I'm asking. I have enough background and experience in electrical engineering to know that I'm NOT an expert in power production and transmission, but I'm always eager to learn. Thank you for your time to comment.