The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) will give $12 million in new funding for eight projects to advance predictive modeling capabilities for solar generation, the department announced on Tuesday.
U.S. Secretary of Energy Rick Perry said in a statement that these projects would address a critical gap in solar energy research, which is knowing precisely how much solar electricity to expect at any given hour on any given day.
'These models will lead to more accurate forecasts of solar generation levels, enabling utilities to better manage the variability and uncertainty of solar power and improve grid reliability,' the statement read.
The funding will advance solar forecasting technologies in a coordinated way with partnerships between national labs, universities, and industry.
'Four projects are aimed at making significant advances in predicting solar generation,' the statement read.
Three projects will study the integration of advanced forecasting technologies with grid planning and operations systems in partnership with the California Independent System Operator.
According to the statement, another project at the University of Arizona will build a testing framework to allow industry and academia to evaluate and compare the performance of advanced models.
By Gulsen Cagatay
Anadolu Agency
energy@aa.com.tr