Eight recipients will share $ 12 m as part of the US Department of Energy 's Solar Forecasting 2 funding round , aimed at improving solar forecasting technology 24 hours in advance of real time , and 24 - 48 hours ahead . The projects will cover three key areas : evaluating and comparing the performance of solar systems and solar power forecasting models ; developing improved tools to predict how much light will reach solar panels ; and integrating solar forecasting technologies with grid operators ’ energy management systems . “The greater the accuracy, the better the grid can operate, and the more efficiently we can make use of the existing infrastructure on the grid as solar becomes an increasingly large fraction of generation,” he said. IBM 's machine - learning Power - Q programme is among the projects .
Eight recipients will share $ 12 m as part of the US Department of Energy 's Solar Forecasting 2 funding round , aimed at improving solar forecasting technology 24 hours in advance of real time , and 24 - 48 hours ahead . The projects will cover three key areas : evaluating and comparing the performance of solar systems and solar power forecasting models ; developing improved tools to predict how much light will reach solar panels ; and integrating solar forecasting technologies with grid operators ’ energy management systems . IBM 's machine - learning Power - Q programme is among the projects .