Machine ‘learners’ compute cloud cover to balance power supplies
August 16, 2015Grazed from LATimes. Author: Daina Beth Solomon.
Hendrik Hamann is into cloud computing — as in real clouds, those puffy things in the sky. Working at IBM alongside some of the computer giant’s most advanced systems, Hamann and his team seek a breakthrough in cloud-cover forecasting. They’re aiming to help ease the introduction of solar electricity into the nation’s major power grids, as solar-generated power is increasingly being loaded onto the grid, propelled by government mandates and solar-technology price declines.
There’s a big problem with solar power that the IBM team is trying to solve: You can’t pump out much electricity on a cloudy day. But the demand for electricity doesn’t decline when a solar plant can’t produce energy. Another source of power has to take its place. So utilities keep coal and natural-gas power plants humming, ready to pitch in when solar can’t do its job. That burns more fuel and costs more money…
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