The S2S4E project has published a new report summarising its main insights on subseasonal and seasonal forecasts, and how the energy industry and other weather-dependent sectors can benefit from using these forecasts.
By using subseasonal and seasonal forecasts, energy companies can improve their management of weather-related risk and potentially increase their profits. Such forecasts can thus contribute to speeding up the transition to renewable energy.
Sub-seasonal forecasts can help the renewable energy sector anticipate Mediterranean tropical-like cyclones (known as medicanes) that can damage offshore wind farms and affect power supply, as discussed in a recent S2S4E webinar.
Seasonal forecasts for autumn and winter 2020 predict strong anomalies in four teleconnections affecting the European atmospheric circulation and the whole electricity system.
A new release of the S2S4E Decision Support Tool sees the addition of two new energy indicators for the solar and wind energy sectors.
It is well known that renewable energy generation depends on the meteorological conditions, such as wind speed for wind energy and solar radiation for solar energy production. Another important factor affecting how much power can be produced is the installed capacity of the power plant, e.g. the number and type of installed wind turbines.
The Barcelona Supercomputing Center has produced the first global dataset containing tall tower wind information to boost the use of these data and help deliver trustful seasonal climate predictions to the energy sector.
The risk of blackouts is usually highest on very cold and sunny winter days when power demand for heating soars. However, this will change as the share of renewables in the electricity system increases, a new study by the S2S4E project shows.
Luz Calvo, UX & Visualization Researcher at Barcelona Supercomputing Center, analyses how User Experience techniques allow to display complex forecasting data in an understandable way.
S2S4E encourages children to learn about renewable energy through the Clean Energy Drawing Challenge launched during the COVID-19 pandemic.
The European Green Deal calls for a carbon-neutral Europe by 2050. This is only possible with a rapid transition to renewable energy, and giving up our fossil fuel dependence. The young generation will have to lead this transition in the near future. Teaching children about renewable energy is thus more urgent than ever.
Several researchers have been involved in improving the forecasts within the S2S4E Decision Support Tool. This work has included combining the forecasts with observational data and analysing past forecasts and how the weather impacts power production and demand.
“Climate change is expected to lead to more extreme weather and to more frequent extreme weather events, and it is important to take this into account when making predictions about the weather to come over the coming weeks and months,” explains climatologist Irene Cionni.