Analysis of Meteorological Factor Multivariate Models for Medium- and Long-Term Photovoltaic Solar Power Forecasting Using Long Short-Term Memory

Abstract

Solar power generation is an increasingly popular renewable energy topic. Photovoltaic (PV) systems are installed on buildings to efficiently manage energy production and consumption. Because of its physical properties, electrical energy is produced and consumed simultaneously; therefore solar energy must be predicted accurately to maintain a stable power supply. To develop an efficient energy management system (EMS), 22 multivariate numerical models were constructed by combining solar radiation, sunlight, humidity, temperature, cloud cover, and wind speed. The performance of the models was compared by applying a modified version of the traditional long short-term memory (LSTM) approach. The experimental results showed that the six meteorological factors influence the solar power forecast regardless of the season. These are, from most to least important: solar radiation, sunlight, wind speed, temperature, cloud cover, and humidity. The models are rated for suitability to provide medium- and long-term solar power forecasts, and the modified LSTM demonstrates better performance than the traditional LSTM.