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Seasonal Climate Prediction: A New Source of Information for the Management of Wind Energy Resources

Seasonal Climate Prediction: A New Source of Information for the Management of Wind Energy Resources Climate predictions tailored to the wind energy sector represent an innovation in the use of climate information to better manage the future variability of wind energy resources. Wind energy users have traditionally employed a simple approach that is based on an estimate of retrospective climatological information. Instead, climate predictions can better support the balance between energy demand and supply, as well as decisions relative to the scheduling of maintenance work. One limitation for the use of the climate predictions is the bias, which has until now prevented their incorporation in wind energy models because they require variables with statistical properties that are similar to those observed. To overcome this problem, two techniques of probabilistic climate forecast bias adjustment are considered here: a simple bias correction and a calibration method. Both approaches assume that the seasonal distributions are Gaussian. These methods are linear and robust and neither requires parameter estimation—essential features for the small sample sizes of current climate forecast systems. This paper is the first to explore the impact of the necessary bias adjustment on the forecast quality of an operational seasonal forecast system, using the European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts seasonal predictions of near-surface wind speed to produce useful information for wind energy users. The results reveal to what extent the bias adjustment techniques, in particular the calibration method, are indispensable to produce statistically consistent and reliable predictions. The forecast-quality assessment shows that calibration is a fundamental requirement for high-quality climate service. http://www.deepdyve.com/assets/images/DeepDyve-Logo-lg.png Journal of Applied Meteorology and Climatology American Meteorological Society

Seasonal Climate Prediction: A New Source of Information for the Management of Wind Energy Resources

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References (68)

Publisher
American Meteorological Society
Copyright
Copyright © 2016 American Meteorological Society
ISSN
1558-8424
eISSN
1558-8432
DOI
10.1175/JAMC-D-16-0204.1
Publisher site
See Article on Publisher Site

Abstract

Climate predictions tailored to the wind energy sector represent an innovation in the use of climate information to better manage the future variability of wind energy resources. Wind energy users have traditionally employed a simple approach that is based on an estimate of retrospective climatological information. Instead, climate predictions can better support the balance between energy demand and supply, as well as decisions relative to the scheduling of maintenance work. One limitation for the use of the climate predictions is the bias, which has until now prevented their incorporation in wind energy models because they require variables with statistical properties that are similar to those observed. To overcome this problem, two techniques of probabilistic climate forecast bias adjustment are considered here: a simple bias correction and a calibration method. Both approaches assume that the seasonal distributions are Gaussian. These methods are linear and robust and neither requires parameter estimation—essential features for the small sample sizes of current climate forecast systems. This paper is the first to explore the impact of the necessary bias adjustment on the forecast quality of an operational seasonal forecast system, using the European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts seasonal predictions of near-surface wind speed to produce useful information for wind energy users. The results reveal to what extent the bias adjustment techniques, in particular the calibration method, are indispensable to produce statistically consistent and reliable predictions. The forecast-quality assessment shows that calibration is a fundamental requirement for high-quality climate service.

Journal

Journal of Applied Meteorology and ClimatologyAmerican Meteorological Society

Published: Jun 2, 2016

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