Original Article

Application of nowcasting to reduce the impact of irradiance ramps on PV power plants

¹ Helmholtz-Zentrum Berlin für Materialien und Energie GmbH, Department of Optics for Solar Energy, 12489 Berlin, Germany
² German Aerospace Center (DLR), Institute of Solar Research, 04001 Almería, Spain
³ German Aerospace Center (DLR), Institute of Solar Research, 70563 Stuttgart, Germany
⁴ German Aerospace Center (DLR), Institute of Networked Energy Systems, 26129 Oldenburg, Germany
⁵ Zuse Institute Berlin, Computational Nano Optics, 14195 Berlin, Germany

^* e-mail: jonas.schaible@helmholtz-berlin.de
^** e-mail: bijan.nouri@dlr.de

Received: 1 September 2023
Accepted: 29 January 2024
Published online: 30 April 2024

Abstract

Short-term fluctuations in photovoltaic power plants, known as ramps and caused by clouds, challenge grid stability and efficient energy use. These issues are traditionally managed with battery energy storage systems, which, while effective, are expensive. We propose an alternative solution: the use of short-term irradiance forecasts, or nowcasts. Using a photovoltaic power plant in Germany and its simulated model, we demonstrated that nowcasts could cut ramp rate violations by 81%. This led to a reduction in required battery capacity by 71% and the required maximum battery power provided by 48%, at the cost of a 13% curtailment loss, i.e. loss through reduction of power. Our data set of 18 chosen days from 2020 with high variability conditions was scaled up to a year for the economic analysis. From an economic standpoint, nowcasts could lower the Levelized Cost of Electricity by 5.5% from 4.74 to 4.48 EUR cents, and even by 35% to 3.09 EUR cents with ideal forecasting, showing its potential. While nowcasts cannot completely replace batteries, they substantially reduce the need for such storage solutions. This results in cost savings and adherence to grid stability requirements, making nowcasts a complement or partial alternative to battery systems for mitigating power fluctuations in photovoltaic power plants.