Direct Normal Irradiance Nowcasting methods for op.. (DNICAST)
Direct Normal Irradiance Nowcasting methods for optimized operation of concentrating solar technologies
(DNICAST)
Start date: Oct 15, 2013,
End date: Oct 14, 2017
PROJECT
FINISHED
Concentrating solar technologies (CST) have proven to be very efficient sources of “clean” power for the electrical grid. The efficient operation of concentrating solar technologies requires reliable forecasts of the incident irradiance for two main reasons. First, such forecasts yield a better management of the thermodynamic cycle because it becomes possible to dynamically fine tune some of its parameters such as the flow rate of the working fluid or the defocusing mirrors. Second, the electricity production can be optimally connected to the grid.Currently, forecasts are made by several techniques, which have their own merits and drawbacks. The uncertainty in the forecast of the DNI is still too large and must be reduced. Therefore, we propose a concept of portfolio of innovative or improved methods and possibly hardware that can be assembled by company experts to answer the specific needs of a given plant.To fulfil the objective, the Consortium will follow a strategy based on interactions with potential users of the system nowcastings, i.e., the plant operators. Requirements expressed by users will be collected and then converted into requirements on optical properties of the clear atmosphere and clouds for the design or improvements of methods. Users’ feedback on the advances will be later collected in the course of the project where intermediate results will be shown. A final workshop will be held for the demonstration of the final version of the methods and their combinations. Additionally, bilateral face-to-face meetings will collect technical views that cannot be expressed in a general forum comprising competitors. These individual meetings will help in addressing the issue of the further commercial exploitation of the assembled know-how. A detailed plan for the scientific dissemination was developed.
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