Solar Weather Forecasts to Improve Solar Power

摘要

Intermittency of solar power production is one of the major challenges utility operators face today. There's nothing to be done to control atmospheric conditions, but now the National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR) is spearheading a three-year, nationwide project to create unprecedented, 36-hour forecasts of incoming energy from the sun to inform and alert solar-energy producers and power plants.rnIn addition to helping utilities use solar energy more effectively, predicting cloud cover over specific areas at specific times can also improve the accuracy of shorter term weather forecasts.