Discover our solar power forecasting tools

The development of intermittent renewable energies complicates the management of the balance that grid operators must maintain between electricity supply and demand. Therefore, they require photovoltaic actors to provide electricity production forecasts. Unlike controllable energy sources such as nuclear or gas, solar energy requires tools to anticipate production levels at various time horizons. This helps optimize the integration of fluctuations upstream and ensure the stability of the electrical grid.

For all solar industry stakeholders, having a reliable forecasting tool is crucial:

PV plant operators: Anticipate production at all time horizons to meet their commitments and avoid penalties. Manage storage and discharging while minimizing losses.

Aggregators, traders: Gain insight into market trends (supply/demand) to maximize the profitability of energy buying/selling.

Grid operators: Avoid network overload or supply failures at the local, regional, or national level.

The API (Application Programming Interface) is an interface that allows remote access to the functions or data of an application with a personal user account. CalibSun hosts NEXT, an SaaS (Software as a Service) solution on the AWS platform, providing secure access via the cloud, without the need to download software to a PC. All data transfers and storage are carried out using secure protocols. However, for isolated sites, CalibSun also offers solutions in Edge computing (on your internal network). 

Regulations vary by country/region and the share of renewable energy in the energy mix. When intermittent energy represents a substantial portion of the electrical grid, especially for islands, its management to ensure supply-demand balance requires regulation. Operators or aggregators are obliged to provide production forecasts, one day in advance (day ahead), and at regular intervals during the day (intraday), to the grid operator to which they are connected. The grid operator can then impose financial penalties on the plant in case of deviation between the announced quantity and the actual injection into the grid. Therefore, it is relevant for photovoltaic plant operators to have a reliable forecasting solution to avoid any financial penalties.