IESO to launch centralised wind forecasting

Ontario's Independent Electricity System Operator (IESO) has announced that it will launch a centralised wind forecasting service on behalf of wind generators, expected to start in 2010.

Centralised wind forecasting will provide a number of benefits by:

• Improving forecast accuracy and consistency to further enhance system reliability
• Supporting the expansion of wind generation within distribution service areas
• Reducing the administrative burden on wind generators

The IESO has also developed other initiatives to support the integration of wind energy into the provincial supply mix, including:

• Enhancing the IESO's forecast methods to account for wind output's higher performance during winter and shoulder seasons, when wind tends to be stronger
• Pursuing new opportunities to refine existing reliability procedures and processes
• Introducing a web-based IESO Wind Tracker that graphically displays hourly wind output from the province's large-scale wind farms