Summer-Go Project
Solar Uncertainty Management and Mitigation for Exceptional Reliability in Grid Operations (SUMMER-GO)
The SUMMER-GO project seeks to increase the reliability and lower the costs of operating the electric grid when there is large contribution from solar power plants. It will achieve those goals by creating probabilistic solar power forecasts and making them useful during grid operations. Since solar power generation is affected by cloud cover, which is difficult to predict with certainty, accurate forecasting can allow more solar generation to be contributed to the grid without increasing the cost of power or decreasing its reliability. At the end of the project, the operator of the transmission grid in Texas (Electric Reliability Council of Texas – ERCOT) will be able to use the probabilistic solar power forecasts in its real-time operations environment and make better decisions about the amount of power reserves it needs to hold and the power plants it needs to dispatch.