Leveraging a Geographic Information System in Co-optimized Generation and Transmission Expansion Planning for Iowa

With everyday lives becoming increasingly energy intensive, the need of the hour is to plan for the growing demand for clean energy in the future. This research project anticipates a very high wind penetration future for Iowa, and with it the necessity to upgrade or build transmission to transfer the energy to load centers in the east and south. Unlike the traditional planning approach which identifies generation and transmission system investment sequentially, a cooptimization approach identifies them simultaneously, yielding significant economic benefit. Interpreting the results of the planning process is crucial and the ability to visualize these results helps in better understanding of the plan. Thus, to support this approach, a Geographic Information System (GIS) is used to select feasible sites for wind farms, and to efficiently communicate complex generation and transmission expansion planning investment results which are co-optimized.