Ireland’s National Centre for Applied Data Analytics & AI (CeADAR) has developed a new system which utilises artificial intelligence to accurately predict the amount of renewable energy that will be produced at wind farms.

While wind energy potential can be easily calculated, accurately predicting the actual amount of energy generated from wind farms is challenging, largely due to weather uncertainties.

This new AI tool uses data from the historical operation of existing wind farms and combines it with forecasts to predict wind energy production a day ahead of the energy being generated.

The more accurate the predictions, the less uncertainty in the level of wind energy that will be available to the grid.

FREMI

This tool was developed during a partnership project, called forecasting renewable energy with machine intelligence (FREMI) between CeADAR and SSE Airtricity.

The €370,000 project took 18 months to complete and was funded by the SEAI national energy research development and demonstration programme.

The tool will also allow energy traders to meet new market rules under the integrated single electricity market (ISEM), the wholesale electricity market for the island of Ireland.

As part of ISEM, renewable energy generators must accurately forecast the energy they generate a day in advance of it generating and going to market.