The JRC has developed a unique and innovative methodology capable of capturing the local geographical information in the variability of wind energy, in particular peaks and ramps, in a much more accurate way than previous meteorologically derived times series.
Adequate modelling of renewable energy sources such as wind turbines crucially depend on the accurate representation of the spatial and temporal characterisation of these data sources. Data from such sources inherently bears the risk of being imperfect, inappropriate or incomplete which might lead to errors in power system studies which could be either overstating or downplaying the possible role of solar and wind energy in the future energy mix. To fill this gap, JRC scientists developed the EMHIRES (wind) dataset.
The EMHIRES (wind) database is a set of data that models how much energy the current installed wind farms in Europe have produced in every hour during the last 30 years.
The strength of EMHIRES with respect to similar datasets lays in the combination of the most recent advances in the fields of weather and wind power. It’s currently the only wind power time series dataset that is publically available for such a long time period on the EU Member State sub-national level (regions, provinces, counties). It uses a new methodology that better captures the details of wind power generation at a local level, including the effects of the mountains, sea breezes, coastal terrains affecting the wind resource, where are the most favourable places to obtain more wind energy.
The methodology can be used to predict how much wind energy potential there could be at specific geographical locations throughout the EU allowing better planning and integration of renewable energy sources into the future energy grid.
The JRC published today the first part of their work, a report describing the development of the EMHIRES (wind) database. In the near future, a second report will be published describing the development of the EMHIRES (PV) database, which focusses on solar energy sources.
The EMHIRES report and the dataset can be found at: https://setis.ec.europa.eu/publications/jrc-setis-reports/emhires-dataset-part-i-wind-power-generation
More information in: https://ec.europa.eu/jrc/en/scientific-tool/emhires
Further reading: Gonzalez Aparicio et Zucker: Meteorological data treatment for RES-E integration studies
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