Stanford University to develop an advanced system to forecast Photovoltaic (PV)

Stanford University is working with Dubai Electricity and Water Authority (DEWA), using its Space-D programme, to develop an advanced system to forecast Photovoltaic (PV) production in the short term at the Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Solar Park in Dubai.

This new system reduces errors in the forecast to less than 10 percent. The system will use artificial intelligence, deep learning, high-density cameras on the main satellite and a network of meteorological stations to predict irradiance, dust and cloud movement, which can affect PV performance.

"Improving the ability to forecast solar PV output will help not only Dubai but the entire world, as we shift increasingly to a clean solar-based economy,"  said Prof Adam Brandt, Associate Professor of Energy Resources Engineering at Stanford University in a statement.

The Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Solar Park is the largest single-site solar park in the world using the Independent Power Producer (IPP) model with a planned capacity of 5,000MW by 2030. It is expected to save 6.5 millions tons of carbons emissions annually, when completed.