Weather forecast
Weather forecast for renewable energy: ENGEOS Weather Monitoring & Forecast Interactive Platform
Given their nature, renewable energies are intimately dependent on weather conditions. Weather plays a crucial role in the generation of renewable energy, as it directly impacts the availability and efficiency of various renewable energy sources such as solar and wind energies.
For example, sunny days are ideal for solar photovoltaic systems, as they generate maximum electricity when exposed to direct sunlight. When the weather is cloudy or dusty, this reduces the efficiency of solar panels, resulting in lower energy production. Similarly, rain, fog and haze reduce the amount of solar energy reaching the ground and decrease solar panel efficiency.
In the case of wind energy production, wind turbines generate electricity when there is sufficient wind speed. The ideal range for most turbines is between 36-90 kilometres per hour (10 to 25 m/s). Calm or low-wind periods lead to reduced energy production from wind turbines. On the other hand, high winds, such as those associated with storms and cyclones, can pose a risk to wind turbines and may require them to be shut down for safety reasons. Hence, accurate information on present and forecasted weather conditions at the level of the renewable energy facility are of paramount importance for their operations, safety and efficiency.
Weather conditions impact not only energy generation from renewable sources but they are also important for the energy storage solutions and backup power sources to ensure a reliable and consistent energy supply.
At the Environmental and Geophysical Sciences (ENGEOS) lab of Khalifa University, we provide high-resolution weather and solar forecast for renewable energy applications to support daily operations and enhance their efficiency and efficacy. ENGEOS weather monitoring and forecast interactive platform provides daily weather forecast for the coming 48 hours which enables the readiness and preparedness of the facility operators under any type of weather.
Additionally, the platform provides the ability to monitor the weather from space in near real-time with a 15-minute frequency and this is based on direct satellite observations of cloud and dust.
The ENGEOS Weather Monitoring and Forecast interactive platform is accessible here
(password required): Click Here
Monitoring of Greenhouse gases (GHGs) from space and form model: ENGEOS – TRACE Platform
Despite the large climate footprint of GHGs, an accurate mapping and monitoring of their sources and concentrations is still lacking in the UAE, a country where several GHG-emitting activities exist and are expected to expand to accompany the economic and demographical development of the country. Hence, there is a pressing need to assess the GHG-concentration levels over the UAE to provide relevant authorities and the public a scientific-based knowledge on GHG concentrations, their variability and subsequent reduction strategies.
A main challenge toward planning GHGs reduction strategies is the lack of accurate knowledge on the quantity of GHGs emitted from the UAE and attributing such to the different economic sectors and point-sources. Moreover, GHG concentrations over the UAE are the total of local and transboundary emissions. Being located downwind of major emitters around the Arabian Gulf, there is a large fraction of GHGs concentrations over the UAE that is coming from other countries. Establishing reduction plans in the UAE without knowing exactly what is emitted locally would penalize several sectors and impact the UAE economic development. Therefore, as a first step towards reducing GHG emissions, ENGEOS lab at Khalifa University has developed the TRACE Platform with the aim to accurately gauge current GHGs levels and gain knowledge on their trends over the UAE. This helps to build a detailed emission inventory and management system.
TRACE provides accurate mapping and monitoring of GHG concentrations over the UAE, a critical information for the UAE’s climate-agenda objectives but inexistent yet. Indeed, the only existing data to date relies on emission rates provided by the stakeholders and industries in the different economic sectors. This information is limited in space (single point and at the surface) and is not continuous over time. To overcome this limitation, TRACE uses Earth observations which are recognized as a powerful tool to provide a synoptic monitoring and reporting on Earth’s atmospheric composition changes over time. By combining earth observations data along with artificial intelligence algorithms and numerical models, TRACE aims to become a state-of-the-art GHG monitoring platform for the UAE.
Fig.---: Trends of Methane: Methane concentration over the UAE derived from TROPOMI satellite.
An important aspect of TRACE is that it accounts for GHG concentrations of detected over the country but being emitted outside and transported by the prevailing winds into the UAE. This gives an unbiased view of the levels of GHGs emitted locally (detected in satellite observations) in the UAE versus those generated from transboundary transport (simulated by the numerical model) and will help to design the relevant strategies to meet the objectives of the NetZero initiative.