energy & meteo systems concludes consulting project on solar and wind power forecasting in Kenya

energy & meteo systems recently concluded a consulting project where we provided advice on best practices in power forecasting to GIZ Kenya and its local partners.

So far Kenya has only a few large wind and solar power plants which contribute to the national electricity supply. But as the country aims to double vRE capacity to 1,1 GW by 2030 it needs to prepare for larger shares of fluctuating electricity generation. Very accurate solar and wind power forecasts then become an increasingly important factor for a seamless vRE system integration.

energy & meteo systems was therefore contracted by the GIZ project "Power System Readiness for Variable Renewable Energies in Kenya" to carry out:

• dissemination workshops on international best practices in power forecasting
• thorough assessment of the Kenyan solar and wind power forecasting system and to provide hands-on recommendations how to improve it

As part of the assessment of the forecasting system, energy & meteo systems conducted an extensive data analysis for the power forecasts provided by the wind parks Lake Turkana (310 MW) and Ngong (25,5 MW) and the solar park Garissa (55 MW). The work included an evaluation of the power forecast accuracy, a comparison with historic forecasts (backcasts) created by energy & meteo systems and an assessment of the meteorological conditions at the sites.

The findings resulted in a catalogue of short to long-term recommendations to implement a state-of-the-art power forecasting system that helps Kenya in paving the way for more renewables.