Sorry, you need to enable JavaScript to visit this website.
Skip to main content
Home
    • Contact Panasonic
    • Save Page
    • Home
    • Green Living
    • Sustainability & Environment
    • New Tool Forecasts Local Power Generation
    Back to Resource Center

    New Tool Forecasts Local Power Generation

    • Contact us
      • Twitter
      • Facebook
      • Linkedin
      • Email
    Green Living - Father Son Playing with Ball

    New Tool Forecasts Local Power Generation

    How much electricity did solar and wind installations generate in your area in the past 24 hours? How much power will they produce today and tomorrow?

    The vast majority of Americans support expanding the production of solar and wind energy. But the average person has no easy way to understand how much power those energy sources actually generate in his or her community, on a day-to-day basis.

    That has changed. In September 2018, Climate Central, a non-advocacy, non-profit research organization, released a free online tool that will let TV meteorologists across the United States share three-day estimates of local solar and wind power generation with their viewers, across a number of straightforward metrics. The tool is part of the Climate Matters initiative, which provides local, ready-to-use information about climate change – from broadcast-ready graphics to data analysis – to more than 600 TV meteorologists around the country.

     

     

    Sample output from the Wind & Solar Electricity Generation Tool.

    Here’s how the new tool works. Each morning, Climate Central downloads hourly historical and forecast data on local wind speeds and solar irradiance across the country, provided by MESO, an atmospheric modeling and consulting group. The tool takes this data and combines it with data on installed solar and wind electricity generating capacity (sourced from the Energy Information Administration, the Open PV Project, the Solar Energy Industry Association, and the U.S. Wind Turbine Database) to calculate the amount of wind and solar electricity generated in individual locations throughout the United States. Using yesterday’s wind and sun actuals, along with projected weather data, the tool estimates yesterday’s electricity generation, and approximates the likely generation levels for today and tomorrow. The results are freely accessible online to both TV meteorologists and the general public.

    Specifically, the tool produces hourly results for every cell in a 0.05° latitude by 0.05° longitude grid across the United States. It then creates daily, regional results by aggregating the hourly figures into 24-hour periods, and by combining the cells into blocks that coincide with the U.S. TV market areas delineated by Nielsen. Television market areas are relatively small, and wind-generated electricity (unlike solar power) often travels long distances from its source to users; the tool also offers estimates for the Environmental Protection Agency’s eGRID regions, within which electricity generated is usually also consumed. In the future, the tool may also provide information for other geographic units, such as counties, states, congressional districts, and zip codes.

    Users access the information by choosing a particular media market from a drop-down menu covering every state in the U.S. The tool then displays electricity generated for that market – in megawatt hours – by both wind and solar sources. In addition to megawatt hours, the tool offers context by providing several other metrics, such as the estimated percent of average homes in each media market those megawatt-hours could power. It also offers wind and a solar power indexes, each a number from zero to ten, that reflects how well-suited the current weather conditions are for solar and wind generation. Finally, the tool describes the percentage of the daily electricity the average homeowner would save with a typical rooftop solar installation (based on average local residential prices for grid electricity).

    “Our goal is to provide an easy-to-understand snapshot of how much the weather is already contributing to meeting local electricity needs,” said Dr. Eric Larson, a senior scientist with Climate Central and a senior research faculty member at Princeton University’s Andlinger Center for Energy and the Environment. Dr. Larson helped build the new tool.

    By enabling meteorologists to routinely inform their viewers about local generation of renewable electricity, the tool increases viewers’ awareness that low-carbon energy sources are already practical and increasingly widespread. Some 60 percent of Americans regard TV weathercasters as trusted sources of information about climate change; the tool lets meteorologists go beyond talking about climate impacts to address clean-energy solutions – ones powered by the weather itself. Meteorologists’ audiences are big and diverse, which gives them an ideal platform to illustrate the power of clean energy around the country.

    This article was republished with permission by North American Clean Energy.

     

    This article was from Climate Central and was legally licensed through the NewsCred publisher network. Please direct all licensing questions to legal@newscred.com.

    Related Posts

    Joyous Father Pushes Swings with His Cute Little Daughter on Them. Happy Family Spends Time Together one Sunny Summer Day in the Idyllics Backyard.
    Sustainability & Environment

    Shining a light on the true value of solar power

    Like we've been saying: solar power is good for you and great for Earth. Here's why.
    Learn more
    Happy family mother housewife and child   in laundry with washing machine
    Financial & Incentives

    The price of solar electricity has dropped 89% in 10 years

    Music to homeowners' ears: gains in efficiency and acceptance bring solar panel prices way down.
    Learn more
    Woman with candle at home because of power cut
    Sustainability & Environment

    Be ready for power outages with renewable technology

    With more of us working, schooling & operating businesses from home, reliable electricity is now a must-have.
    Learn more
    Production of solar panels.
    Trends & Technology

    The rise of solar module OEM and what it means for homeowners

    Why are solar module manufacturers shifting to original equipment manufacturers to make their panels?
    Learn more
    Group of friends sitting on front porch laughing
    Sustainability & Environment

    One third of Oahu homes now solar powered

    How solar energy is powering Hawaii's homes and economy.
    Learn more
    Untouched sandy beach with palms trees and azure ocean
    Sustainability & Environment

    Rooftop solar booming in Hawaii as utility launches Quick Connect

    Aloha State homeowners embrace the sun's abundant energy with a little help from their power company.
    Learn more
    Modern passive house with solar panels and white roof for energy efficiency.
    Homeowner Insights

    6 Key Benefits of Creating a Solar-Powered Home

    Has switching your home to solar power become a no-brainer?
    Learn more
    asian family with one child having fun in the woods
    Homeowner Insights

    Why you should unify your home energy system in 2021

    Purchasing the components of your solar & storage system from a single brand has its benefits.
    Learn more
    Sunset over solar panels
    Trends & Technology

    Solar-plus-storage poised to become more financially attractive, but seasonal solutions remain key

    The current and future state of solar power and energy storage in America.
    Learn more
    Father and son hiking through the mountain at sunrise
    Trends & Technology

    4 home renewable energy predictions in 2021

    Panasonic's Dan Glaser gives his residential renewable energy predictions and outlook for 2021.
    Learn more
    Wooden blocks with the word ROI and green arrow up. High level of business profitability. Return on investment, invested capital, rate. Success. Growth. Analytics. Report
    Financial & Incentives

    How quickly will your solar panels pay for themselves?

    Understanding payback period and return on investment of your solar panel purchase.
    Learn more
    Businesswomen discussing by table in office
    Financial & Incentives

    How to accelerate solar adoption for the underserved

    As solar panels have become more affordable, there's no reason home solar has to be exclusive to upper income households.
    Learn more
    Back to Trends

    Contact Sales

    Thank you for your submission. A Panasonic representative will contact you.

    Contact Support

    Thank you for your submission. A Panasonic representative will contact you.

    • About Us
    • News
    • Careers
    • Investor Relations
    • Social Impact
    • Contact Us
    • Do Not Sell My Data

    Get the Latest on Panasonic Trends

    Thanks for signing up!

    Connect with us

    • Twitter
    • Facebook
    • Linkedin
    • Instagram Link
    • Youtube

    Select Country/Language

    • United States - English
    • Canada - English
    • Canada - Français
    © 2020 Panasonic Corporation of North America. All Rights Reserved.
    • Privacy Policy
    • Cookie Policy
    • Terms
    • Panasonic Global
    • Consumer
    • Industrial
    Reviewed by Accessible 360
    Reviewed by Accessible 360