Artificial Neural Networks for Photovoltaic Power Forecasting: A Review of Five Promising Models

Solar energy is largely dependent on weather conditions, resulting in unpredictable, fluctuating, and unstable photovoltaic (PV) power outputs. Thus, accurate PV power forecasts are increasingly crucial for managing and controlling integrated energy systems. Over the years, advanced artificial neural network (ANN) models have been proposed to increase the accuracy of PV power forecasts for various geographical regions. Hence, this paper provides a state-of-the-art review of the five most popular and advanced ANN models for PV power forecasting. These include multilayer perceptron (MLP), recurrent neural network (RNN), long short-term memory (LSTM), gated recurrent unit (GRU), and convolutional neural network (CNN). First, the internal structure and operation of these models are studied. It is then followed by a brief discussion of the main factors affecting their forecasting accuracy, including forecasting horizons, meteorological conditions, and evaluation metrics. Next, an in-depth and separate analysis of standalone and hybrid models is provided. It has been determined that bidirectional GRU and LSTM offer greater forecasting accuracy, whether used as a standalone model or in a hybrid configuration. Furthermore, hybrid and upgraded metaheuristic algorithms have demonstrated exceptional performance when applied to standalone and hybrid ANN models. Finally, this study discusses various limitations and shortcomings that may influence the practical implementation of PV power forecasting.