Publication Types:

On tracking varying bounds when forecasting bounded time series

2024ArticleIn press/Available onlineJournal paper
A. Pierrot, P. Pinson
Technometrics, in press/available online
Publication year: 2024

We consider a new framework where a continuous, though bounded, random variable has unobserved bounds that vary over time. In the context of univariate time series, we look at the bounds as parameters of the distribution of the bounded random variable. We introduce an extended log-likelihood estimation and design algorithms to track the bound through online maximum likelihood estimation. Since the resulting optimization problem is not convex, we make use of recent theoretical results on stochastic quasiconvex optimization, to eventually derive an Online Normalized Gradient Descent algorithm. We illustrate and discuss the workings of our approach based on both simulation studies and a real-world wind power forecasting problem.

On the efficiency of energy markets with non-merchant storage

2024ArticleIn press/Available onlineJournal paper
L. Frölke, E. Prat, P. Pinson, R. M. Lusby, J. Kazempour
Energy Systems, in press/available online
Publication year: 2024

Energy market designs with non-merchant storage have been proposed in recent years, with the aim of achieving optimal integration of storage. In order to handle the time linking constraints that are introduced in such markets, existing works commonly make simplifying assumptions about the end-of-horizon storage level. This work analyses market properties under such assumptions, as well as in their absence. We find that, although they ensure cost recovery for all market participants, these assumptions generally lead to market inefficiencies. Therefore we consider the design of markets with non-merchant storage without such simplifying assumptions. Using an illustrative example, as well as detailed proofs, we provide conditions under which market prices in subsequent market horizons fail to reflect the value of stored energy. We show that this problem is essential to address in order to preserve market efficiency and cost recovery. Finally, we propose a method for restoring these market properties in a perfect-foresight setting.

Convolutional encoding and normalizing flows: a deep learning approach for offshore wind speed probabilistic forecasting in the Mediterranean Sea

2024ArticleIn press/Available onlineJournal paper
R Marcille, P Tandeo, M Thiébaut, P Pinson, R Fablet
Artificial Intelligence for the Earth Systems, in press/available online
Publication year: 2024

The safe and efficient execution of offshore operations requires short-term (1 to 6 hours ahead) high-quality probabilistic forecasts of metocean variables. The development areas for offshore wind projects, potentially in high depths, make it difficult to gather measurement data. This paper explores the use of deep learning for wind speed forecasting at an unobserved offshore location. The proposed convolutional architecture jointly exploits coastal measurements and numerical weather predictions to emulate multivariate probabilistic short-term forecasts. We explore both Gaussian and non-Gaussian neural representations using normalizing flows. We benchmark these approaches with respect to state-of-art data-driven schemes, including analog methods and quantile forecasting. The performance of the models, and resulting forecast quality, are analyzed in terms of probabilistic calibration, probabilistic and deterministic metrics, and as a function of weather situations. We report numerical experiments for a real case-study off the French Mediterranean coast. Our results highlight the role of regional numerical weather prediction and coastal in situ measurement in the performance of the post-processing. For single-valued forecasts, a 40\% decrease in RMSE is observed compared to the direct use of numerical weather predictions. Significant skill improvements are also obtained for the probabilistic forecasts, in terms of various scores, as well as an acceptable probabilistic calibration. The proposed architecture can process a large amount of heterogeneous input data, and offers a versatile probabilistic framework for multivariate forecasting.

CRPS-based online learning for nonlinear probabilistic forecast combination

2023ArticleIn press/Available onlineJournal paper
D. van der Meer, P. Pinson, S. Camal, G. Kariniotakis
International Journal of Forecasting, in press/available online
Publication year: 2023

Forecast combination improves upon the component forecasts. Most often, combination approaches are restricted to the linear setting only. However, theory shows that if the component forecasts are neutrally dispersed—a requirement for probabilistic calibration—linear forecast combination will only increase dispersion and thus lead to miscalibration. Furthermore, the accuracy of the component forecasts may vary over time and the combination weights should vary accordingly, necessitating updates as time progresses. In this paper, we develop an online version of the beta-transformed linear pool, which theoretically can transform the probabilistic forecasts such that they are neutrally dispersed. We show that, in case of stationary synthetic time series, the performance of the developed method converges to that of the optimal combination in hindsight. Moreover, in case of nonstationary real-world time series from a wind farm in mid-west France, the developed model outperforms the optimal combination in hindsight.