The US National Renewable Energy Laboratory sponsored the study, which was presented at the CIGRE Session 45 in Paris, France.
Using the US’ Eastern Interconnection as a model, the study focused on how the country’s electrical systems will react to a large-scale interruption of generation like various power plants going offline.
GE said such an event may reduce frequencies on the system, customer interruptions or even result in large-scale blackouts.
According to GE, the study explored how the grid will respond to a major event and maintain its resiliency with significant wind energy added to the generation mix.
The study identified that wind can be more effective when compared to thermal generation in controlling the grid frequency as it responds rapidly in such cases.
GE’s Energy Consulting business senior technical director and lead author of the study Nicholas Miller said: "While GE’s study considered the impact of wind power on the Eastern Interconnection of the U.S., the lessons we’ve learned can be applied in Europe and around the globe.
"The conclusions demonstrate that wind power can be more effective in maintaining frequency than thermal generation when wind farms are equipped with grid friendly controls. These findings should show that the future of wind energy is bright and it will continue to play a larger role in the power we consume."
