One-month-ahead wind speed forecasting using hybrid AI model for coastal locations

Wind speed forecasts can boost the quality of wind energy generation by increasing the efficiency and enhancing the economic viability of this variable renewable resource. This work proposes a hybrid model for wind energy capacity for electrical power generation at coastal sites by utilizing wind-related variables’ characteristics. The datasets of three coastal locations of Kuwait validate the proposed method. The hybrid model is a merger of Artificial Neural Network (ANN) and Particle Swarm Optimization (PSO) and predicts one-month-ahead wind speed for wind power density calculation. The neural network starts its performance evaluation with a variable number of hidden-layer neurons to finally identify the optimal ANN topology. Comparisons of statistical indices with both expected and observed test results indicate that the ANN-PSO based hybrid model with the low root-mean-square-error and mean-square-error values outperforms ANN-based trivial models. The prediction model developed in this work is highly accurate with a Mean Absolute Percentage Error (MAPE) of approximately (3-6%) for all the sites.