Abstract | Objectives | Data | Energy Efficiency | Results
Weather affects how we use, distribute and produce energy and the environmental effects of energy production. For energy producers, in depth knowledge of weather and weather patterns could open avenues for increasing efficiency in use, distribution and production while reducing the environmental effects that result from energy production. NEMAC, BAMS, NCDC, UNCA, DOE and UT Batelle LLC have combined efforts to create software tools to facilitate the development of new energy conservation and efficiency technologies into marketable products that have significant potential for reducing both energy usage and energy costs. The tools will be comprised of 2 main types: the first for characterizing and reporting observed climatic conditions, and the second for determining the environmental benefits of proposed new energy technologies.
Start Date Oct , 2004
End Date May 31, 2005
Importance of Meteorological Data for Renewable Energy
Type of Renewable Energy |
Importance of Meteorological Data |
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Wind Energy |
Output from wind power-generating turbines depends on the strength and dependability of winds over the site. Short- and medium range forecasts of winds in the area are useful to optimize the operation of the wind-generating turbines. |
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Solar Energy |
The prediction of cloud cover and precipitation over a given location is used to estimate solar power production over the next few days or weeks. These estimates could then be used to decide back-up power needed to maintain the required level of power output making Solar viable as part of an energy suite. |
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Biomass Production |
The production of biomass including fuel wood depends on weather parameters such as temperature, rainfall and cloudiness at different phases of the growth of crops and plants. Accurate yield prediction using prevailing meteorological elements could be used for estimating the biomass, including fuel wood yield. This, in turn, would be useful in determining the likely energy output from biomass ahead of the season. |
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Hydropower |
A large hydropower generating plant needs forecasts of rainfall in the catchment area feeding into the reservoir. This will ensure that the outflow is properly regulated and that the generation of power takes place without excessive outflow. Medium range prediction of dry and wet spells in the catchment area, three days in advance, is extremely useful for planning the reservoir flow that is used to generate the energy. |
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Extreme Events |
The occurrence of extreme events such as tropical cyclones, floods, droughts, heat and cold waves, dust storms, and tornadoes affect a wide range of socio-economic development. The impact of extreme events on installations of power generation and distribution is substantial. In addition to claiming thousands of lives, extreme events cause widespread damage to renewable energy systems. The sector of the economy most affected by natural disasters is agriculture (59 per cent). The loss to the power production and distribution sector is estimated to be about 8 per cent (Table 1). Table 1. Distribution among economic sectors of losses from natural hydrometeorological events (percentage of total losses for all sectors) Sector Economic losses (in percentage)
(Source: WMO Bulletin, 2001, Volume 50, No. 1) |
Importance of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy to Environmental Effects
In 2001 over one-half of all electricity consumed in the United States was produced by the combustion of coal. Other fossil fuels contributed another 20% of our generating capacity. In the process of generating this electricity 2290 million metric tons of CO2, 13 million metric tons of SO2 and 6 million metric tons of NOx were emitted. Each of these pollutants has significant environmental consequences. Both SO2 and NOx are converted to fine particulate matter through the action of atmospheric chemistry and are major contributors to observed concentrations. The USEPA estimates that 40,000 excess deaths in the US are attributable to fine particulate matter alone. The fine particulates produced from SO2 and NOX emissions also dominate the haze that obscures our vistas in the Eastern United States. Ozone is another byproduct of NOx emissions and has major health and environmental effects. Clearly a significant value can be placed on technologies that improve our environment by reducing emissions of these pollutants.
It is reasonable to assume that one watt of energy conserved due to energy efficiency technologies would on the average translate to about two-thirds watt of electricity that was not necessary to be produced by combustion of fossil fuels. The amount could actually be higher because of losses of generated power during distribution. The implications for reduction of CO2 emissions is immediately obvious and can easily be calculated since CO2 emissions are a global pollutant and the sensitivity to their location of emission is low.
The projection of environmental effects for SO2 and NOx emissions is much more complex. For these emissions local (< 25 km), medium-scale (25 – 100 km), and long-range (>100km) environmental effects are each important. Moreover sensitivity of the environment to emissions is not a linear function of the size of the emitting source. For example, a large coal-fired plant may only produce 3 ozone molecules per NOx molecule emitted, while a smaller source, such as a gas-fired turbine, could produce up to 10 molecules of ozone per NOx molecule emitted. Thus, to understand the benefits of emissions reductions due to energy conservation or the use of renewable energy, specific sources or at least source categories must be modeled.
Enhancement of TIRAND
An improved tool for facilitating weather modeling
The TIRAND system is a commercial database management system that is unified interface to and the NEXRAD LEVEL III Radar from the NCDC archive. TIRAND archives
Project Personnel
Project Manager
Marvin Feinblatt
Program Manager
Jim Fox
Scientific Visualization
Stewart Dickson
Application Integration
Joe Brownsmith
Collaborators
