Enhanced Day-Ahead PV Power Forecast: Dataset Clustering for an Effective Artificial Neural Network Training

The increasing integration of renewable energy sources into the existing energy supply structure is challenging due to the intermittency typical of these energy sources, which implies problems of reliability and scheduling of grid operation. Concerning solar energy, the solar forecast tool predicts the photovoltaic (PV) power production and therefore permits a more efficient grid management. In this paper, the combination of clustering techniques and ANNs (Artificial Neural Networks) for day-ahead PV power forecast is analyzed. Clustering techniques are exploited to divide a dataset into different classes of days with similar weather conditions. Then, a dedicated ANN is developed for every group. The main goal is to assess the forecast improvement determined by the combination of ANNs and dataset clustering methods. Different combinations are compared on a real case study: a PV facility in SolarTechLAB, in Politecnico di Milano.