Is wind considered a peaker plant too?
No.
Don't know the definition, but peaker sounds like it only runs when peak generation is needed.
Correct.
I had thought wind had some favored regality - such as when it runs, utilities are forced to take its juice.
Incorrect?
As I understand it, it is more a bid system to supply power. But each Independent System Operator will operate differently.
https://www.ge.com/power/transform/article.transform.articles.2018.feb.a-tale-of-two-isos-energy-mark...US wholesale energy markets have different approaches to solving this problem. They're generally bifurcated into those that allocate payments for capacity—the physical capability to generate or "steel in the ground"—and those that don't. Some markets like PJM (the mid-Atlantic power pool) hold capacity auctions three years ahead of time to establish annual values. These markets also cap wholesale energy prices at $2,000—a result of the recent FERC Order 831.
On the extreme opposite end stands the Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT), with its highly competitive, restructured retail and wholesale markets. Instead of capacity payments, ERCOT has lifted its energy price caps to $9,000 per MWh with the notion that higher potential prices will lure new generation. While the concept makes sense, in just the past few years the entire energy landscape has tectonically shifted, owing to low-cost renewables and cheap gas, jeopardizing the concept.
The California Independent Systems Operator (CAISO) has a limited competitive retail power market, as well as a competitive wholesale market, which is greatly affected by the activities of its three main utilities. CAISO has opted to broaden its energy market to include parts of the Pacific Northwest, Arizona, and Nevada. While it does not have a formal capacity auction, it does have a specific process to address resource adequacy in the near term. Under this approach, CAISO is authorized to procure capacity in specific instances, with one-year agreements that do not involve publicly visible bidding....
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Day-Ahead Market
http://www.ercot.com/content/wcm/training_courses/123623/WM201M3_DAM_2017.pdf