Improving Economics of Solar Power Through Resource Analysis, Forecasting and Dynamic System Modeling
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Awardee:
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University of California, San Diego |
| Project Partners: | EDSA Power Analytics, California ISO, San Diego Gas & Electric (SDG&E) |
| Award Date: | March 11, 2010 |
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CSI RD&D Funding:
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$548,148 |
| Match Funding: | $137,037 |
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Start Date:
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Jan 2011 |
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End Date:
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Jan 2013 |
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Project Manager:
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Jan Kleissl |
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858-534-8087 |
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jkleissl @ ucsd.edu |
| Grant Manager: | Stephan Barsun |
| 509-891-3187 | |
| stephan.barsun @ itron.com |
Summary
The University of California, San Diego (UCSD) project focuses on providing utilities, the solar industry, and utility customers with electricity system planning, design, and operation modeling tools with the ability to accurately assess and forecast energy output and account for distributed PV systems. The project team will make use of existing infrastructure and databases throughout California to improve the temporal and spatial resolution of solar resource maps. Data from over 1100 metered PV systems in the state will be processed to generate high quality solar resource databases at high temporal and spatial (three miles or better) resolution. Combining the solar resource with PV installation parameters, engineering models will be constructed and implemented in Google Earth to obtain PV power output. Integration into utility forecasting tools and transmission and distribution models based upon the needs of CAISO and the utilities in California will also be a central effort in our path to market.
Satellite data will be used to implement and test solar forecasting algorithms. A one-year dataset of solar irradiances will be generated at 1 km resolution which will inform solar resource maps, as well as to forecast PV power output throughout the state up to six hours ahead.
The primary deliverables for the project include an improved solar resource and PV performance model; improved datasets; a solar resource forecasting and visualization tool; and validation and integration of solar intermittence models. High resolution (both temporal and spatial) solar resource models will be a critical component in addressing high penetration PV.
Read UCSD article about this project
Status
| Time Period | Activity |
| Jan 2011 | Project started |
Project Documents/Website Links
- Project presentation PDF (2.09 MB)
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Downscaling satellite derived irradiation using topographic shading analysis (Task 1.5 report) PDF (1.5 MB)
