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WeatherNext 3 targets wind and solar energy operators with turbine-height wind speeds and cloud cover data refreshed hourly from satellite imagery
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Google $GOOGL DeepMind introduced WeatherNext 3 on Thursday, a weather forecasting model that generates predictions every hour by drawing on live satellite data rather than waiting for government-produced datasets that update every six hours.
The model forecasts wind speeds at 100 meters — roughly the height of a wind turbine — along with cloud cover and solar radiation levels, data the company says will help grid operators and renewable energy developers estimate power output from wind and solar assets. According to DeepMind, the hourly cadence reduces the typical forecast's data lag to three or four hours, down from roughly seven.
