Solar Resource Data

The following solar resource data collections can be found in the Renewable Resource Data Center (RReDC).

Cooperative Networks for Renewable Resource Measurements (CONFRRM) Solar Energy Resource Data
Provides solar radiation and wind measurement data for select U.S. locations.

Historically Black Colleges and Universities Solar Radiation Monitoring Network
Provides 5-minute measurements of solar irradiance for six stations in the southeastern United States from 1985 to 1996.

India Solar Resource Data
For consolidated maps and other information please see NREL’s India Solar Maps.

Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory Reduced Circumsolar Radiation Database
Provides detailed intensity profiles of the solar and circumsolar region, direct normal radiation data, and total hemispherical solar radiation data for 11 U.S. locations from 1976 to 1981.

Measurement and Instrumentation Data Center (MIDC)
Provides near real-time solar irradiance and meteorological data for several U.S. locations.

National Aeronautics and Space Administration Remote Sensing Validation Data
Provides high-quality solar radiation monitoring data from a network of 12 stations in Saudi Arabia from 1995 to 2001.

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Solar Data
Provides archived solar radiation information from a network of 39 stations throughout the United States.

National Renewable Energy Laboratory Spectral Solar Radiation Database
Provides spectral solar radiation data for several U.S. sites for 1986–1988.

National Solar Radiation Database (NSRDB)
Provides hourly solar radiation and meteorological data for sites throughout the United States for 1961–1990 and 1991–2010.

Solar Energy Measurement Research and Training Sites (SEMRTS) Data Set
Provides solar resource data for five sites across the United States for dates ranging from 1979 to 1984.

Solar Resource Variability Data
Data and maps demonstrating the variability in both time and space of the solar resource across the United States.

Solar Spectra
Provides integrated standard spectral irradiance data for the United States from a variety of sources.

Typical Meteorological Year Data Sets
Provide hourly values of solar radiation and meteorological elements for U.S. sites and territories for a 1-year period during 1961–1990 or 1991–2005.

WEST Associates Solar Monitoring Network
Provides solar resource data for 52 stations in six Western U.S. states for 1976–1980.