Enhancing Short Term Wind Energy Forecasting for Increased Utility Operations

The purpose of this modification is to: 1) Correct the web link in section VIII. G, Notice of Right to Request Patent Waiver, of the FOA. All other parts of the Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA) remain unchanged. The areas which have changed are highlighted within the FOA. The overall goal of this Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA) is to provide funding for a project that will improve short term (0-6 hour) wind forecasting and research the effect of improved short term forecasts on utility operations. It is anticipated that the overall project will show the value of additional atmospheric observations and model enhancements on wind forecasts at turbine height, and will help achieve subsequent improvement in wind plant power forecast accuracy. It is anticipated that the project team will consist of a public-private partnership between the recipient, DOE, and NOAA in order to accomplish the goals of this FOA. This FOA will provide funding to a recipient to work in collaboration with federal participants (NOAA/DOE) to meet an emerging national need for more precise wind forecasts than are currently available. Accuracy of commercial wind energy forecasting services is limited to a large degree by core meteorological and forecast products available from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's (NOAA) National Weather Service, which to date has not focused on providing foundational meteorological information optimized for wind energy. This project seeks to research and test whether improved meteorological observations will provide more accurate wind forecasts that can be utilized within the public/private sector to facilitate grid operations. While a number of research, wind industry, and forecasting service organizations have made local or regional efforts to improve wind measurement and forecasting capabilities at turbine levels, typically using existing weather fore cast models and operating in a local area or region, advancements in both research and operational state-of-the-art for lower atmospheric sensing and numerical predictions on the national scale are still needed. The observation and data assimilation/modeling component of this project is anticipated to begin in early 2011 and continue for a 12 month period.