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The paper argues that the variability of renewable energy can be managed through optimized geographic dispersion and the cross-firming of wind and solar resources. By analyzing data from the MRO, SPP, and ERCOT regions, the study demonstrates that expanding the geographic scope of a renewable portfolio significantly reduces system variability and the frequency of zero-power production. It also finds that combining solar and wind resources further lowers variability compared to wind-only portfolios. The authors conclude that these strategies, combined with demand response, energy storage (such as xEVs), and smart grid communications, can reduce the reliance on conventional baseload power.

The research demonstrates that creating optimized portfolios of geographically diverse wind and solar sites significantly reduces power output variability compared to individual sites. In the modeled U.S. Midwest region for 2004, combined wind and solar portfolios achieved an average variability reduction of 55% below the average of individual sites. The study finds that a small subset of available sites is often sufficient to achieve most of these variability reductions. To manage remaining variability, the authors propose integrating responsive loads, energy storage via electric vehicles, and intelligent grid communications.