Argonne gets wind of new energy

Researchers at the U.S. Department of Energy's Argonne National Laboratory, with support from the Institute for Systems and Computer Engineering of Porto (INESC Porto), are developing new wind power forecasting techniques that they hope will allow power system operators and wind power plant managers to more accurately predict the amount of electricity that the wind power plants will generate at any given time.

Unlike coal or nuclear power plants, wind farms produce energy in fits and spurts. When the wind is not blowing and a wind farm fails to produce much power, other power plants must increase their generation to pick up the slack. Argonne scientists seek to use wind power forecasts to help power plant operators run their plants more efficiently. Read More...