S2S4E Climate Services for Clean Energy

The project seeks to improve renewable energy variability management by developing a tool that for the first time integrates sub-seasonal to seasonal (S2S) climate predictions with renewable energy production and electricity demand. 

Large-scale deployment of renewable energy is key to comply with the emissions reductions agreed upon in the Paris climate agreement.

However, despite being cost competitive in many settings, renewable energy diffusion remains limited largely due to seasonal variability. Knowledge of power output and demand forecasting beyond a few days remains poor, creating a major barrier to renewable energy integration in electricity networks.

To help solve this problem, S2S4E is developing an innovative service to improve renewable energy variability management. The outcome will be new research methods exploring the frontiers of weather conditions for future weeks and months and a decision support tool for the renewable industry.

Our decision support tool will draw on historical case studies picked by our energy company partners. It will also improve real-time forecasts and assess their performances in realistic decision-making processes in these companies.

The tool enables energy producers and providers, electricity network managers and policy-makers to design better informed S2S strategies in order to improve renewable energy integration, business profitability, electricity system management, and emissions’ reduction.

CICERO leads two work packages: one on user needs and the role of forecasts in decision-making and the second on  dissemination and outreach. We are also involved in work packages working on observational datasets, climate predictions, and exploitation and business models.