MoES plans weather forecasting programme for wind, solar energy sectors

New Delhi, Jul 13 : The Earth Sciences Ministry’s 2021-2026 plan will have a weather forecasting programme for wind and solar energy sectors where weather plays a crucial role, a senior official said on Wednesday.
Addressing a workshop on ‘Meteorology Forecast for Wind and Solar Energy Generation: Current Status and Perspective’, Earth Sciences Ministry secretary M Rajeevan said there are challenges in weather prediction for wind and solar energy sectors. “The MoES has a good programme for 2021-2026 for activities related to weather forecast for wind and solar energy sector,” he said. The 2021-2026 plan has an outlay of what major projects the ministry will undertake during this period. Rajeevan also asked the Indian Institute of Tropical Meteorology (IITM) and the National Centre for Medium Range Weather Forecast (NCMRWF), both under the MoES, to take the lead in this. “We also recognise the difficulty in meeting the requirements of wind and solar energy sectors because you need daily localised and location-specific forecast. You also need a very high-frequency forecast of every 15 minutes or so,” he said. Rajeevan said forecasting for the wind energy sector becomes especially difficult in hilly areas where windmills are installed. As far as solar energy is concerned, it is very easy to give a forecast for 24-48 hours in a clear sky. But when it comes to cloudy sky, aerosols clouding, the forecast can go wrong, he pointed out. “So we have challenged (ourselves) from our side to meet the requirement of the wind and energy sectors,” he said. The workshop was attended by industry representatives. (PTI)