$9 million funding to enhance short term forecasting of wind and solar farms
Summary
If these supply forecasts are wrong or generators cant meet their target, it can result in power system instability and higher operating costs.Wind and solar farms are penalised for not meeting a required output level or can be required to curtail their generation to match an overly conservative forecast.Under the market changes that AEMO has facilitated as part of this initiative, all wind and solar farms registered in the NEM will be able to submit their own 5-minute ahead forecasts to AEMO, for use in central dispatch in order to improve the accuracy of market outcomes. It is a win-win for everyone, he said.We are extremely pleased to see the collaboration between market participants, forecasting service providers and ARENA to deliver highly innovative solutions to the renewable energy sector, said AEMOs Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer Audrey Zibelman.Weather is the fuel for an ever-increasing proportion of the electricity generated across Australia, so it is vitally important that we foster innovation and rapid development of world leading technologies and services. As the market operator, we require the best possible information in real-time to manage the secure and reliable delivery of energy to Australian consumers, 24/7, said Ms Zibelman.Download the media release for a list of recipientsApplying machine learning algorithms and custom hardware (Light Detection and Ranging device) to refine the accuracy of short-term forecasts at two Windlab sites. Projects will leverage Solcasts global satellite based nowcasting services, combined with real-time solar farm SCADA data and sky-imagers to generate short-term power output predictions. Advisian Digital will develop ensemble machine learning models trained on historical data within a prediction framework that considers a wide range of variables, including cross-series information.