Irish transmission system operator Eirgrid has gone to market for weather forecasting services for wind and solar farm operators in the Republic and Northern Ireland.
The grid company is seeking two companies to provide 15-minute updates to projects as well as five-day forecasts, according to a tender notice.
The duration of the deal will be for four years with options to extend annually for an additional 48 months. The value of the contract totals €2.6m.
Interested parties have until 29 January to participate.
Eirgrid said there is currently over 4.7GW of wind on the all-island system with 138MW of solar PV also connected, mainly in Northern Ireland.
The tender said: “Wind and solar power forecasting serves as an integral tool to manage this ever increasing portfolio of variable generation which enables efficient and reliable operation of the power system.
“Wind and solar power forecasting is used for various purposes across multiple forecasting horizons within the organisation.
“The accuracy of the wind and solar power forecasts are integral to our operational planning, and scheduling and dispatch.”