Feed-In Management: 4Cast Significantly Reduces Curtailments With Precise Yield And Power Forecasts

Potsdam, Germany - According to the monitoring report of the Federal Network Agency Bundesnetzagentur (BNetzA), around 6 terawatt hours (TWh) of regeneratively generated electricity were curtailed and not fed into the grid in 2020 due to shutdowns of renewable energy generation plants as part of feed-in management measures.

Against the backdrop of the German government's goal of expanding the share of renewable electricity to 80 percent by 2030, there is a risk that the amount of regulated electricity will continue to increase.

One solution to this problem could be precise yield and power forecasts, as developed by 4Cast GmbH & Co. KG of Potsdam, Germany, based on machine learning, learning algorithms such as artificial neural networks, and numerical weather data from various sources. According to the company, precise yield and power forecasts could potentially add double-digit terawatt-hours of wind power to the grid each year.

For its systems, 4Cast relies on intelligent and adaptive algorithms and resulting individual forecast models. Yield forecasts support sustainable and market-optimized trading of wind and solar energy. Using current and historical production and weather data from various sources, 4Cast trains its in-house models, achieving unprecedented precision, according to the company. To ensure scalability for increasing customer requests in the future, the company is moving forward with restructuring and further development of its systems.

"In 2023, with our accurate forecasting models, we will make the knowledge gained from the research we have been conducting since 2016 available to the industry in a profitable and customer-specific way. We will also use this knowledge to push into further markets and advance the energy transition, as well as other sectors of the economy, with our products," said 4Cast CEO Sascha Bauer.

4Cast has just signed a contract with an aluminum producer from Bosnia-Herzegovina. The aluminum company feeds the production of the aluminum with energy from its own wind farms. In the process, 4Cast's forecasts ensure that the electricity required for production is regulated more easily and in line with demand.

Source: IWR Online, 13 Jan 2023