Wind energy forecasting

CERC provides short-term operational wind energy forecasting services, which enable wind turbine owners to plan their energy usage for periods when the power output is high, and avoid periods when the wind speed is low and the power output is very low or zero.

The forecasts are produced using CERC’s local airflow and wind energy model FLOWSTAR-Energy to simulate the air flow and turbulence at the turbine site.

FLOWSTAR-Energy accounts for the effects of local terrain and interactions between turbine wakes, predicting local variations which have a significant impact on power output.

Meteorological forecast data, terrain data and wind turbine data from third-party suppliers are used as input. The forecasts can be further optimised as measured data becomes available.

Typically, hourly forecasts are provided for up to 15 days ahead. The forecasts can be supplied via web API or on a website where the forecast can be viewed in graphical form. Forecasts can be provided for a stand-alone wind turbine or for a multi-turbine wind farm.