Intelligent clustering-based interval forecasting method for photovoltaic power generation using CNN–LSTM neural network

In recent years, the rapid development of photovoltaic (PV) power generation has led to an increased focus on accurate forecasting of PV power output. Interval forecasting, which provides uncertainty measurement information for forecasting results, has become a hot research topic in this field. However, the accuracy of single models or traditional multi-model forecasting methods is often insufficient for meeting the forecasting requirements. In addition, interval forecasting places higher demands on the learning and generalization capabilities of forecasting models. To address these issues, this paper proposes an intelligent multi-model forecasting method based on output features clustering and convolutional neural network–long short term memory (CNN–LSTM) for PV power interval forecasting. First, multiple feature indices are constructed to represent the differences in PV output features for different months. The intelligent clustering method is then employed to achieve the multi-model clustering for forecasting model. Finally, CNN–LSTM is utilized to implement the PV power interval forecasting. The combination of CNN and LSTM effectively improves the modeling accuracy of the intelligent forecasting model. Based on actual data from PV power stations, the method described in this paper narrows down the forecasting interval compared with the single model, reducing prediction interval normalized average width by more than 4%.