Wind and Solar Farms Are Hard to Predict. Utilities Are Looking to Change That.

Unpredictable weather has long complicated wind and solar power generation. Now companies are turning to increasingly sophisticated computer models to cut costs and produce energy more efficiently despite fluctuations.

Compared with a coal, gas or nuclear plant, wind and solar facilities produce a dizzying amount of data that utilities are struggling to put into use. Each solar panel and each wind turbine sends out its own data on electricity output, unlike with a traditional power plant.

Utilities…