Short Term Wind Speed Forecasting Based on Bayesian Model Averaging Method

Abstract

Wind energy has been the world’s fastest growing source of clean and renewable energy in the past decade. One of the fundamental difficulties faced by power system operators, however, is the unpredictability and variability of wind power generation, which is closely connected with the continuous fluctuations of the wind resource. Good short-term wind speed forecasting methods and techniques are urgently needed since it is important for wind energy conversion systems in terms of the relevant issues associated with the dynamic control of the wind turbine and the integration of wind energy into the power system. This paper proposes the application of Bayesian Model Averaging (BMA) method in combining the one-hour-ahead short-term wind speed forecasts from different statistical models. Based on the hourly wind speed observations from one representative site within North Dakota, four statistical models are built and the corresponding forecast time series are obtained. These data are then analyzed by using BMA method. The goodness-of-fit test results show that the BMA method is superior to its component models by providing a more reliable and accurate description of the total predictive uncertainty than the original elements, leading to a sharper probability density function for the probabilistic wind speed predictions.