Solar Power Forecasting Partnership

Working to build a solar power forecasting system that advances the state-of-the-science through cutting edge research and to test it in several high penetration solar utilities and ISOs with geographic and climatological diversity, using appropriate metrics, and to disseminate the research results widely to raise the bar on solar power forecasting technology.

Forecasting as a value chain

RAL leads a partnership to advance the state-of-the-science of solar power forecasting. The project includes performing cutting edge research, testing the forecasts in several geographically- and climatologically-diverse high penetration solar utilities and ISOs, and wide dissemination of the research results to raise the bar on solar power forecasting technology. The partners include three other national laboratories, six universities, industry partners, including four forecast providers, six utilities, and four balancing authorities. This public-private-academic team is working in concert to perform use-inspired research to advance solar power forecasting in a series of three activities, the first two comprising research to advance both the necessary forecasting technologies and the metrics for evaluating them. The third activity is a year-long, full-scale demonstration of integrating enhanced technologies into utility operations and evaluating its usefulness.

The project views forecasting as a value chain, beginning with the weather that causes a deviation from clear sky irradiance and progresses through monitoring and observations, modeling, forecasting, dissemination and communication of the forecasts, interpretation of the forecast, and through decision-making, which produces outcomes that have an economic value.

Funding: 

Department of Energy