August 29, 2013 at 17:50IBM Introduces New Wind and Solar Prediction System
IBM introduced advanced energy forecasting and weather modeling technology to help municipal enterprises around the world improve the reliability of renewable energy systems. The solution combines weather forecasting technology and analytical tools to accurately calculate wind and solar energy. Thanks to this, municipal enterprises will be able to integrate renewable energy sources into a single electric grid, which will reduce carbon dioxide emissions, as well as significantly increase the amount of clean energy produced for consumers and legal entities.
The solution, called the “Renewable Hybrid Prediction System” (Hybrid Renewable Energy Forecasting , HyRef) uses weather modeling capabilities, advanced cloud-based image processing technology, and near-real-time cloud monitoring cameras. At the same time, sensors installed on wind generators monitor air temperature, wind speed and direction. In combination with analytics, a data collection and processing solution can provide accurate local weather forecasts for a specific wind farm a month in advance, as well as every 15 minutes.
In addition, HyRef allows you to predict the performance of an individual wind generator and to calculate the amount of generated renewable energy using data on a local weather forecast. Such a level of accessibility of information will provide municipal enterprises with improved capabilities for managing constantly changing wind and solar energy, as well as for predicting the energy input for subsequent storage or use in a single electric grid. Moreover, such data will help energy companies integrate other sources of traditional fuels, such as coal and natural gas.
"Municipal enterprises around the world are choosing a strategy for integrating new renewable energy sources into their electricity networks. The ultimate goal is to ensure that global energy production is 25% renewable by 2025 , ”said Dennis McGinn, President and Chairman of the United States Renewable Energy Council (ACORE). “The data coming from HyRef’s weather modeling and forecasting tools will significantly accelerate this process, as well as give us the opportunity to come closer to unlocking the full potential of renewable energy sources .”State Grid Jibei Electricity Power Company Limited (SG-JBEPC), a subsidiary of State Grid Corporation of China (SGCC), is already using HyRef to integrate renewable energy sources into a common grid. This initiative was the first stage of the largest project on the introduction of renewable energy sources. The project, called Zhangbei 670MW, is part of the PRC's five-year program to reduce the use of traditional fuels and involves the extraction, transmission and storage of wind and solar energy.
Using IBM’s wind forecasting technology, Zhangbei’s first phase will accelerate the integration of renewable energy by 10%. The amount of additional energy received will help supply more than 14,000 homes with electricity. Moreover, the efficient use of generated energy allows municipal enterprises to rationally distribute energy capacities, while analytical solutions provide the necessary tools to increase the power grid capacity.
"The use of analytics and big data processing technology will allow municipal enterprises to adapt to the intermittent nature of renewable energy sources. They will also be able to predict the amount of solar and wind energy generated using completely new capabilities , says Brad Gammons, CEO of IBM Global Energy and Utilities Industry. “ We have created an intelligent system that combines weather and energy forecasting to increase system availability and optimize power grid performance .” Hybrid Renewable Energy Forecaster is an advanced weather modeling technology based on other innovative IBM projects such as Deep Thunder. The IBM-created Deep Thunder solution provides local, high-resolution micro-forecasts per square kilometer, covering territories of varying sizes — from municipalities to entire states. In combination with data analytics, the solution helps commercial organizations and government agencies increase the level of service delivery, more efficiently manage logistics and plan equipment placement in order to reduce the likelihood of adverse effects of weather events, while at the same time reducing costs, improving customer service and even saving lives people.
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