The Great Plains Institute (GPI) recently released a report concluding that the launch of the Midcontinent Independent System Operator (MISO) electricity market in 2005 resulted in an increase of wind plant capacity factors. Using publicly available data, GPI built an econometric model to estimate the real-time effect on wind plant generation. Per the model, the market resulted in an increase in wind plant capacity factors by 5.0 – 6.7%, relative to neighboring wind plants not in the market.

The report, funded by the Heising-Simons Foundation’s Climate and Clean Energy program, is among the first to provide statistical evidence that competitive electricity markets managed by independent system operators benefit wind energy production, most likely due to less curtailment of wind plant output. It also provides useful evidence of the benefits of wholesale markets as other states, for example in the Western U.S., consider expanding markets to help manage growing levels of renewable energy.

Read the full report here.