Solutions for the Energy Industry

Weather has a huge impact on the energy industry. Not only is the consumption of energy highly weather dependent, but so is energy production, especially with renewables.

Whether it is about minimizing risk, efficient and optimized operations, enabling new trading strategies, or digitizing processes – the energy industry requires reliable data to understand the effect of weather and its impact on business.

Impact of Weather on Energy Consumption and Demand

Weather has a direct impact on energy demand and its consumption. If it is cold outside, the demand for energy for heating naturally increases. When it is very hot, the energy demand also increases due to the use of air conditioning.

However, the weather not only has a major influence on the heating and cooling behavior of consumers, but also on industrial production. Production plants also require more energy during the cold and dark season, as well as being similarly exposed to heating/cooling demand.

Impact of Weather on Energy Production

Renewable energies are highly dependent on the weather

The power grid should be in balance at all times, i.e. supply and demand must always be aligned. For utilities, large fluctuations in renewable energy production therefore pose a challenge to ensure this balance. Due to the transition to (non-dispatchable) renewable energies, this topic is gaining additional ecological and social importance.

For example, a large part of the Swiss electricity mix consists of hydropower. The inflows used in this process are subject to seasonal fluctuations. In the rainy summer months or during the snowmelt in spring, the inflow is correspondingly greater than in winter, when precipitation remains stored in the form of snow. The situation is similar for wind and solar power generation, which is even more directly dependent on wind and global radiation.

Consequently, the production of renewable energies is subject to strong fluctuations which are, on the one hand, dependent on the weather on a daily basis and, on the other hand, are also subject to seasonal fluctuations. Therefore, especially short-term, local and precise weather data are of great importance. But also medium and long-term weather forecasts are important for the seasonal planning of energy procurement and distribution.

Impact of Weather on Energy Infrastructure

Environmental and weather conditions can have several impacts on the energy infrastructure. Weather conditions, for instance, influence the transmission capacity of high voltage power lines and thus have a direct impact on the efficient use of energy.

Distribution System Operators need to precisely forecast their regional demand, which then must be brought into a balance with the energy supply required. Inaccurate demand forecasts lead to more challenges in the intraday operations, to higher cost, and thus to a reduced profit. Hence Distribution System Operators require accurate forecasts and a plethora of parameters/indices to get a demand forecast coming close to reality.

Transmission System Operators need to precisely forecast transmission capacities to operate the transmission systems as efficiently as possible. Inaccurate forecasts of environmental conditions, and thus transmission capacities, lead to an inefficient or even restricted use of the transmission system, and thus to significant losses. Therefore, for Transmission System Operators, accurate forecasts, easy-to-use platforms and reliable services are indispensable.

Additionally, historic weather data can be used in order to understand the weather conditions at new production facilities and thus the potential of wind and solar earnings.

Site and Location Evaluation: minimizing risk, maximizing earnings

Are you planning a new wind farm or a new solar plant? Are you interested in the potential of the site without having to take measurements yourself for several years?

Based on historical weather data, analyses can be performed for specific locations and thus a first assessment of the energy potential based on wind speeds or global radiation of the site can be made. Through these analyses, the yield potential can be estimated, which greatly reduces the planning risk and the yields can subsequently be maximized with weather forecast data.

For these analyses to be as reliable as possible, locally precise weather data are of paramount importance. Meteoamtics offers a very high local resolution and accuracy of weather data thanks to the 90 meter downscaling approach. This creates planning security and decisions can be made with confidence.

Weather Data to Accelerate the Energy Transition

Accurate weather data helps to better integrate renewable energy into the power grid, allowing renewable energy to be used more cost-effectively. The economic use of renewable energies helps the expansion and thus promotes the efforts towards energy transition and climate neutrality.

The more accurate the weather data, the better the power forecasts for renewable energies. With an installed capacity of over a gigawatt of solar, wind or hydro, even a 1% difference in forecast error can trigger economic losses of several million Euros per year.

However, precise weather data can be used for much more than renewable energy power forecasts. The flexible availability and integration of all required weather data helps to optimize digital processes and services and to drive innovations faster.

For example, smart energy management systems can be developed in buildings and factories, or proprietary forecasting solutions for private consumers in their own homes.

We offer detailed forecast systems and individual solutions, which we refine locally on the basis of high-resolution weather model data. Local conditions as well as live data of the respective power plants are included in our energy forecasts. This enables us to make precise energy forecasts for wind, solar and hydropower feed-in for different control areas and locations.

With an installed capacity of over a gigawatt of solar, wind or hydro, even a 1% difference in forecast error can trigger economic losses of several million Euros per year.