SOLAR IRRADIANCE MEASUREMENT SYSTEM AND WEATHER MODEL INCORPORATING RESULTS OF SUCH MEASUREMENT
First Claim
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1. A method for forecasting power variations from a photovoltaic (PV) system due to transient weather phenomena, the method including:
- with a data-processing system including a central server in communication with a spatial network of irradiance sensors, acquiring time-dependent data from the spatial network of irradiance sensors;
determining a clear sky expectation function including effects of shading on the irradiance sensors to form a determined clear sky expectation function;
correcting the determined clear sky expectation function for at least one of a presence of clouds, power outage, communications outage, partial shade, and orientation of an irradiance sensor to derive derated clear sky expectation function;
determining a position-dependent clearness index representing power output from irradiance sensors; and
estimating said clearness index at a second time based at least on a component of a velocity of clouds at a first time, the second time being greater than the first time.
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Abstract
A measurement system and method of forecasting time-dependent corrections into a power output of photovoltaic power generators based on a determination of time-dependent shading of photovoltaic cells. Identification of cloud positioning in the sky is based on recordation of images of a scene within a field-of-view FOV that optionally subtends the Sun, base on which images a velocity vector associated with cloud movement is computed to form output associated with time when clouds will shade power generators in question. A method for producing a weather forecast based on such corrections.
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Citations
20 Claims
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1. A method for forecasting power variations from a photovoltaic (PV) system due to transient weather phenomena, the method including:
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with a data-processing system including a central server in communication with a spatial network of irradiance sensors, acquiring time-dependent data from the spatial network of irradiance sensors; determining a clear sky expectation function including effects of shading on the irradiance sensors to form a determined clear sky expectation function; correcting the determined clear sky expectation function for at least one of a presence of clouds, power outage, communications outage, partial shade, and orientation of an irradiance sensor to derive derated clear sky expectation function; determining a position-dependent clearness index representing power output from irradiance sensors; and estimating said clearness index at a second time based at least on a component of a velocity of clouds at a first time, the second time being greater than the first time. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13)
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14. A method for producing a weather forecast with a use of an optical detector unit, comprising:
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with a data processing unit, determining a figure-of-merit (FOM) representing a time-dependence of a change in a power output from the optical detector unit based on at least first data representing irradiance of sunlight received by the optical detector unit, second data representing shading of the optical detector unit, third data containing information about a wind velocity, and fourth data describing orientation of the optical detector unit; running a weather research and forecasting (WRF) model that includes the FOM as an initial condition to obtain a weather model output corrected for presence of clouds. - View Dependent Claims (15, 16)
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17. A method for predicting cloud shading, comprising:
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recording images of a scene within a field-of-view (FOV) of an imaging system positioned near ground to produce a time-sequential set of image frames, the FOV subtending the Sun, identifying a cloud in an image frame of interest to determine a first position thereof in said image frame; comparing the first position with a second position of the same cloud in a previous image frame; and computing a velocity vector on a basis of a difference between the first and second positions. - View Dependent Claims (18, 19, 20)
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Specification