Energy Meteorology

A special issue of Atmosphere (ISSN 2073-4433). This special issue belongs to the section "Meteorology".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (30 June 2018) | Viewed by 37017

Special Issue Editor

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Energy Meteorology is an increasing field of research, interfacing renewable energy and atmospheric physics. Atmospheric physics is needed for the assessment and forecasting of the power output from solar and wind energy systems & mdash; and thus for the planning, monitoring, and efficient operation of these systems. Climatological data are usually used for the assessment of solar and wind energy resources, whereas near real time data and forecast of atmospheric variables are needed for the prediction of fluctuating power outputs. Thus, Energy Meteorology covers a wide range of methods and data.

Articles addressing methods dealing with the estimation, retrieval, or forecast of atmospheric variables relevant for renewables are welcome.
Methods can include:
- remote sensing, kriging and data fusion of atmospheric variables
- numerical weather prediction
- atmospheric motion vectors
- new observation strategies/systems
- data assimilation

The link of the methods and the derived data to solar and wind energy applications should be clearly demonstrated and discussed in the articles.

Dr. Richard Müller
Guest Editor

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Published Papers (7 papers)

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Research

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16 pages, 6879 KiB  
Article
Using Shortwave Radiation to Evaluate the HARMONIE-AROME Weather Model
by Kristian Pagh Nielsen and Emily Gleeson
Atmosphere 2018, 9(5), 163; https://doi.org/10.3390/atmos9050163 - 26 Apr 2018
Cited by 5 | Viewed by 4075
Abstract
Evaluation of global shortwave irradiance forecasts from the HARMONIE-AROME weather prediction model is presented in this paper. We give examples of how such an evaluation can be used when testing a weather model or reanalysis product. We specifically use the non-dimensional clear sky [...] Read more.
Evaluation of global shortwave irradiance forecasts from the HARMONIE-AROME weather prediction model is presented in this paper. We give examples of how such an evaluation can be used when testing a weather model or reanalysis product. We specifically use the non-dimensional clear sky and variability indices. We have tested seven months of HARMONIE-AROME 40h1.1 output against Danish global irradiance stations and 35 years of the Irish Met Éireann reanalysis (MÉRA) simulations. MÉRA, which is run with HARMONIE-AROME 38h1.2, is shown to have a significantly lower bias than the previously available global horizontal irradiance (GHI) reanalysis data from the ERA-Interim dataset. The Danish HARMONIE-AROME 40h1.1 has a negative bias during the summer months that is not seen in the Irish HARMONIE-AROME 38h1.2. For both model runs, we find a negative bias in the shortwave irradiance forecasts on days with thick clouds. This suggest that the model has too much cloud water in thick clouds. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Energy Meteorology)
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19 pages, 5435 KiB  
Article
Wind Resource Assessment in the Southern Plains of the US: Characterizing Large-Scale Atmospheric Circulation with Cluster Analysis
by Li Dong
Atmosphere 2018, 9(3), 110; https://doi.org/10.3390/atmos9030110 - 16 Mar 2018
Cited by 6 | Viewed by 4277
Abstract
A new approach for wind resource assessment in the Southern Plains of the US is proposed here. This new approach establishes the baseline frequency of occurrence of large-scale atmospheric circulations (weather regimes) by cluster analysis, using 38-yr NCEP-NCAR reanalysis daily data from 1979–2016. [...] Read more.
A new approach for wind resource assessment in the Southern Plains of the US is proposed here. This new approach establishes the baseline frequency of occurrence of large-scale atmospheric circulations (weather regimes) by cluster analysis, using 38-yr NCEP-NCAR reanalysis daily data from 1979–2016. These baseline frequency values can help quantify the departure of wind resource from the long-term mean for a given month. In specific, two scenarios featuring favorable and unfavorable wind energy productions in the Callahan Divide Energy Center of Texas, US, are evaluated by the new approach of wind resource assessment in details. For the favorable scenario, it is found that the jet stream is configured to enhance the southwesterly flow over the Southern Plains, with a frequency of occurrence being nearly three times of the baseline frequency, whereas for the unfavorable scenario, the jet stream is found to suppress the low-level jet over the Southern Plains, with a frequency of occurrence being more than twice the baseline frequency. Hence, the new approach is proven to provide an objective and more efficient way in conducting wind resource assessment. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Energy Meteorology)
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13 pages, 1860 KiB  
Article
Comparative Evaluation of the Third-Generation Reanalysis Data for Wind Resource Assessment of the Southwestern Offshore in South Korea
by Hyun-Goo Kim, Jin-Young Kim and Yong-Heack Kang
Atmosphere 2018, 9(2), 73; https://doi.org/10.3390/atmos9020073 - 16 Feb 2018
Cited by 37 | Viewed by 5730
Abstract
This study evaluated the applicability of long-term datasets among third-generation reanalysis data CFSR, ERA-Interim, MERRA, and MERRA-2 to determine which dataset is more suitable when performing wind resource assessment for the ‘Southwest 2.5 GW Offshore Wind Power Project’, which is currently underway strategically [...] Read more.
This study evaluated the applicability of long-term datasets among third-generation reanalysis data CFSR, ERA-Interim, MERRA, and MERRA-2 to determine which dataset is more suitable when performing wind resource assessment for the ‘Southwest 2.5 GW Offshore Wind Power Project’, which is currently underway strategically in South Korea. The evaluation was performed by comparing the reanalyses with offshore, onshore, and island meteorological tower measurements obtained in and around the southwest offshore. In the pre-processing of the measurement data, the shading sectors due to a meteorological tower were excluded from all observation data, and the measurement heights at the offshore meteorological towers were corrected considering the sea level change caused by tidal difference. To reflect the orographic forcing by terrain features, the reanalysis data were transformed by using WindSim, a flow model based on computational fluid dynamics and statistical-dynamic downscaling. The comparison of the reanalyses with the measurement data showed the fitness in the following order in terms of coefficient of determination: MERRA-2 > CFSR = MERRA > ERA-Interim. Since the measurement data at the onshore meteorological towers strongly revealed a local wind system such as sea-land breeze, it is judged to be inappropriate for use as supplementary data for offshore wind resource assessment. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Energy Meteorology)
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21 pages, 2245 KiB  
Article
Assembling Typical Meteorological Year Data Sets for Building Energy Performance Using Reanalysis and Satellite-Based Data
by Thomas Huld, Elena Paietta, Paolo Zangheri and Irene Pinedo Pascua
Atmosphere 2018, 9(2), 53; https://doi.org/10.3390/atmos9020053 - 6 Feb 2018
Cited by 46 | Viewed by 7201
Abstract
We present a method to generate Typical Meteorological Year (TMY) data sets for use in calculations of the energy performance of buildings, based on satellite derived solar radiation data and other meteorological parameters obtained from reanalysis products. The great advantage of this method [...] Read more.
We present a method to generate Typical Meteorological Year (TMY) data sets for use in calculations of the energy performance of buildings, based on satellite derived solar radiation data and other meteorological parameters obtained from reanalysis products. The great advantage of this method is the availability of data over large geographical regions, giving global coverage for the reanalysis and continental-scale coverage for the solar radiation data, making it possible to generate TMY data for nearly any location, independent of the availability of meteorological measurement stations in the area. The TMY data generated with this method have been validated against 487 meteorological stations in Europe, by calculating heating and cooling degree days, and by running building energy performance simulations using EnergyPlus. Results show that the generated data sets using a long time series perform better than the TMY data generated from station measurements for building heating calculations and nearly as well for cooling calculations, with relative standard deviations remaining below 6% for heating calculations. TMY data constructed using the proposed method yield somewhat larger deviations compared to TMY data constructed from station data. We outline a number of possibilities for further improvement using data sets that will become available in the near future. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Energy Meteorology)
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1289 KiB  
Article
Study on Extension of Standard Meteorological Data for Cities in South Korea Using ISO 15927-4
by Yeweon Kim, Hi-Kyoung Jang and Ki-Hyung Yu
Atmosphere 2017, 8(11), 220; https://doi.org/10.3390/atmos8110220 - 14 Nov 2017
Cited by 7 | Viewed by 4185
Abstract
Accurate standard meteorological data sets for each city are essential elements to assess and analyze high-performance buildings quantitatively in order to ensure that they comply with energy saving policies of the nation. ECO2, which is an assessment program of building energy in Korea, [...] Read more.
Accurate standard meteorological data sets for each city are essential elements to assess and analyze high-performance buildings quantitatively in order to ensure that they comply with energy saving policies of the nation. ECO2, which is an assessment program of building energy in Korea, has employed meteorological data of the closest city to the target location from 13 urban meteorological data references; the employment of this program has demonstrated the ability to reflect climatic differences between cities. The present study expanded urban meteorological data to ISO TRY (International Organization for Standard Test Reference Year), an international standard methodology that can calculate the data in a relatively simple manner using observed data in Korea, as much as possible in order to reflect meteorological data, including the air temperature relevant for heating and cooling energy as well as solar radiation (cooling/heating energy) for each city, that affected the assessment of building energy the most. In the present study, existing data is expanded to a show the standard meteorological data of 66 cities that can be put into the Korean assessment program (ECO2). This data considered valid meteorological data (minimum statistical period, air temperature, relative humidity, wind, and solar radiation, etc.) among manned and unmanned observational data obtained from 479 locations from 2001 to 2010. For cities other than the 66 aforementioned cities, zoning was conducted to separate cities that had and did not have the standard meteorological data using a cumulative temperature density graph. In this way, meteorological data can be available in all cities, which will enable more accurate simulation assessments on building energy. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Energy Meteorology)
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4255 KiB  
Article
Regional Impact Assessment of Monsoon Variability on Wind Power Availability and Optimization in Asia
by Akintayo T. Abolude, Wen Zhou and Yu Ting Leung
Atmosphere 2017, 8(11), 219; https://doi.org/10.3390/atmos8110219 - 13 Nov 2017
Cited by 5 | Viewed by 4088
Abstract
Recent developments have emphasized the global impacts of climate change and have renewed commitments in renewable energy and energy meteorology. Wind energy depends largely on prevailing meteorological conditions on both local and large scales, thus, wind power optimization should aid its assessment and [...] Read more.
Recent developments have emphasized the global impacts of climate change and have renewed commitments in renewable energy and energy meteorology. Wind energy depends largely on prevailing meteorological conditions on both local and large scales, thus, wind power optimization should aid its assessment and development. This study uses ERA-Interim daily data from 1979 to 2014 to investigate the impact of the East Asian Monsoon on wind power in Asia. Wind power increase in the Bay of Bengal region as wind vectors strengthened from winter (DJF, December-January-February) to summer (JJA, June-July-August), while the predominant direction shifted to southwesterly. The influence of the South China Sea on South East Asia resulted in increased wind power that peaked in winter. Probability distribution functions for four sub-regions revealed higher probabilities of relatively lower wind speeds in JJA, except for the South East region, where most probable wind speeds were reached in winter. The capacity factor also varied by region and by season. Power generation was lowest in JJA for all the regions except the South West. The South East region also had the highest power generated over the domain. This variation of wind power impacts the amount of energy that must be supplied by non-wind sources, termed Demand Net Wind (DNW). Knowledge of DNW fluctuations thus becomes an important consideration for optimization of power plants, grid networking and reliability, and energy markets. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Energy Meteorology)
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Review

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22 pages, 2114 KiB  
Review
Irradiance Variability Quantification and Small-Scale Averaging in Space and Time: A Short Review
by Gerald M. Lohmann
Atmosphere 2018, 9(7), 264; https://doi.org/10.3390/atmos9070264 - 15 Jul 2018
Cited by 45 | Viewed by 5976
Abstract
The ongoing world-wide increase of installed photovoltaic (PV) power attracts notice to weather-induced PV power output variability. Understanding the underlying spatiotemporal volatility of solar radiation is essential to the successful outlining and stable operation of future power grids. This paper concisely reviews recent [...] Read more.
The ongoing world-wide increase of installed photovoltaic (PV) power attracts notice to weather-induced PV power output variability. Understanding the underlying spatiotemporal volatility of solar radiation is essential to the successful outlining and stable operation of future power grids. This paper concisely reviews recent advances in the characterization of irradiance variability, with an emphasis on small spatial and temporal scales (respectively less than about 10 km and 1 min), for which comprehensive data sets have recently become available. Special attention is given to studies dealing with the quantification of variability using such unique data, the analysis and modeling of spatial smoothing, and the evaluation of temporal averaging. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Energy Meteorology)
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