Solar & Wind Power Requires Better Weather Forecasts

Posted: 8/4/2015

Trigger

Just read Weather Forecasting Enters a New Era As solar and wind gain wider use, rapid advances in climate forecasting could save money for utilities and ratepayers. authored by the MIT Technology Review.

Irony Of History

So because solar & wind power are so unreliable you need to develop much better weather forecasts?

At least in this article we learn (emphasis added):

1. “Solar producers are particularly susceptible to sudden swings in output; a solar array that’s partially shaded can lose 70 percent of its generating capacity within seconds.”
2. ““Operators in California need constant updates to feed into their load forecasting system, so every 15 minutes we’re simulating 200,000 solar PV [photo voltaic] systems, modeling every single location on its own along with the irradiation forecasts,” ”

Don Quixote is laughing at our follies!