Five-year Continental and Offshore Unified Wind and Solar Dataset From The Experimental HRRR Model: Preliminary Verification and Dataset Uses

Abstract

In this study, we describe a 5-year dataset of wind speed and solar irradiance based on short-range forecasts from the Experimental HRRR model. Meteorologically consistent, and concurrent values of wind speed and solar irradiance cover the entire contiguous United States (US), as well as offshore regions. We present verification of the wind dataset versus METAR observations over the HRRR domain, as well as several 80-m wind towers, and a number of high-quality offshore buoy measurements in the offshore region and the Great Lakes. We also describe the large number of solar irradiance variables now included in the HRRR forecasts, and present some preliminary verification against high-quality SURFRAD observations. This dataset is well-suited for grid integration studies over the US. In the final part of the presentation, we briefly describe the value of the HRRR precipitation forecasts for seasonal hydrology and potential inclusion of hydroelectric power into grid integration studies.