Data and Tools
Browse or search this comprehensive listing of data and tools for analyzing photovoltaic (PV) and concentrating solar power (CSP) technologies, solar grid and systems integration, and solar technology markets.
| Data or Tool | Description | CSP | PV | Grid Integration | Market Research | Tech to Market | metadata |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Renewable Energy Materials Properties Database | Identifies the type, quantity, source, and other properties of materials used by solar power technologies | ||||||
| PV Bifacial Irradiance and Performance Modeling Toolkit | Enables time-series bifacial PV irradiance and electrical data modeling | Photovoltaics | |||||
| ATB: Annual Technology Baseline | Technology cost and performance projection data for solar systems | Concentrating Solar Power, Photovoltaics | |||||
| Bird Clear Sky Model | Estimates clear sky direct beam, hemispherical diffuse, and total hemispherical solar radiation on a horizontal surface | Concentrating Solar Power, Photovoltaics, CSP, PV | |||||
| Bird Simple Spectral Model | Computes clear sky direct beam, hemisperical diffuse, and hemisperical total irradiances on a receiver plane | Concentrating Solar Power, Photovoltaics, CSP, PV | |||||
| Cambium | Hourly cost, emission, and operational data for modeling U.S. electric sector futures | Concentrating Solar Power, Photovoltaics | |||||
| Circumsolar Radiation Data: The Lawrence Berkeley Laboratory Reduced Data Base | Intensity profiles of the solar and circumsolar region, direct normal radiation data, and total hemispherical solar radiation data in the United States | Concentrating Solar Power, Photovoltaics, CSP, PV | |||||
| Comparative Photovoltaic Levelized Cost of Energy Calculator | Calculates levelized cost of energy for PV systems based on cost, performance, and reliability | LCOE | |||||
| Concentrating Solar Power Projects | Worldwide SolarPACES database of CSP projects | Concentrating Solar Power | |||||
| CONFRRM: Cooperative Networks for Renewable Resource Measurements | Solar radiation resource data at various locations in the United States | Concentrating Solar Power, Photovoltaics, CSP, PV | |||||
| CREST: Cost of Renewable Energy Spreadsheet Tool | Economic, cash-flow models for assessing solar power projects | Concentrating Solar Power, Photovoltaics, CSP, PV | |||||
| dGen: Distributed Generation Market Demand Model | Simulates customer adoption of distributed energy resources | Photovoltaics, PV | |||||
| DISC Model | Estimates direct beam component from empirical relationships between global and indirect clearness indices | Concentrating Solar Power, Photovoltaics, CSP, PV | |||||
| dsgrid: Demand-Side Grid Model | Electricity load model for power systems analyses | Photovoltaics, PV | |||||
| FESTIV: Flexible Energy Scheduling Tool for Integrating Variable Generation | Simulates electric power system behavior to understand variability and uncertainty | Concentrating Solar Power, Photovoltaics, CSP, PV | |||||
| Historically Black Colleges and Universities Solar Radiation Monitoring Network | Global and diffuse horizontal solar irradiance data from 1985 to 1996 | Concentrating Solar Power, Photovoltaics, CSP, PV, HBCU | |||||
| JEDI Concentrating Solar Power Model | Estimates jobs and economic development impacts from CSP projects | Concentrating Solar Power | |||||
| Levelized Cost of Energy Calculator | Calculates for both utility-scale and distributed generation solar technologies | LCOE, Concentrating Solar Power, Photovoltaics, CSP, PV | |||||
| MIDC: Measurement and Instrumentation Data Center | Provides irradiance and meteorological data from stations throughout the United States | Concentrating Solar Power, Photovoltaics, CSP, PV | |||||
| NASA Remote Sensing Validation Data: Saudi Arabia | Solar radiation data across Saudi Arabia from 1998 to 2003 | Concentrating Solar Power, Photovoltaics, CSP, PV | |||||
| National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Solar Data | U.S. climate data from 39 stations in the 1980s | Concentrating Solar Power, Photovoltaics, CSP, PV, NOAA | |||||
| NSRDB: National Solar Radiation Database | Meteorological, global horizontal, direct normal, and diffuse horizontal irradiance solar data | Concentrating Solar Power, Photovoltaics | |||||
| Photovoltaic Module Soiling Map | Soiling parameters of fielded PV panels at 124 locations across the United States | Photovoltaics | |||||
| PVDAQ | U.S PV performance geospatial data | Photovoltaics | |||||
| PVWatts Calculator | Estimates energy production and costs of grid-connected PV systems | Photovoltaics | |||||
| RAPID: Regulatory and Permitting Information Desktop Toolkit - Open EI | Regulations and permitting information for PV systems | Concentrating Solar Power, Photovoltaics, CSP, PV | |||||
| ReEDS: Regional Energy Deployment System Model | Capacity planning model, simulating a power system's evolution | Concentrating Solar Power, Photovoltaics, CSP, PV | |||||
| Renewable Energy Atlas | Solar resource geospatial data | Concentrating Solar Power, Photovoltaics, CSP, PV | |||||
| Renewable Energy Data Explorer | Solar resource data for some countries outside of the United States | Concentrating Solar Power, Photovoltaics, CSP, PV | |||||
| REopt: Renewable Energy Integration & Optimization | Evaluates economic viability, size, and loads of distributed PV systems | Photovoltaics | |||||
| reV: Renewable Energy Potential Model | Geospatial model for assessing renewable energy capacity and generation potential | Concentrating Solar Power, Photovoltaics, CSP, PV | |||||
| RPM: Resource Planning Model | Capacity expansion model for PV systems | Photovoltaics | |||||
| SAM: System Advisor Model | Models techno-economic performance and cost predictions of grid-connected solar systems | Concentrating Solar Power, Photovoltaics, CSP, PV | |||||
| SAMPA: Solar and Moon Position Algorithm | Calculates the solar and lunar zenith and azimuth angles from the year 2000 to 6000 | Concentrating Solar Power, Photovoltaics, CSP, PV | |||||
| SIIP: Scalable Integrated Infrastructure Planning Model | Analyzes the scheduling problems and dynamic simulations of quasi-static grid infrastructures | Concentrating Solar Power, Photovoltaics, CSP, PV | |||||
| SIND: Solar Integration National Dataset Toolkit | Modeled subhourly solar power data for integration studies | Concentrating Solar Power, Photovoltaics, CSP, PV | |||||
| SMARTS: Simple Model of the Atmospheric Radiative Transfer of Sunshine | Predicts clear-sky spectral irradiances | Concentrating Solar Power, Photovoltaics, CSP, PV | |||||
| Solar Energy Meteorological Research and Training Sites Data | Hourly data for four U.S. locations from 1979 to 1984 | Concentrating Solar Power, Photovoltaics, CSP, PV | |||||
| Solar for All | Visualization of U.S. rooftop solar technical potential | Photovoltaics, PV | |||||
| Solar Power Data for Integration Studies | U.S. power plant data for the year 2006 | Concentrating Solar Power, Photovoltaics, CSP, PV | |||||
| Solar Radiation Research Laboratory: Baseline Measurement System | Solar radiation data displays and data sets | Concentrating Solar Power, Photovoltaics, CSP, PV | |||||
| Solar Resource Data, Tools, and Maps | Online geospatial tools, downloadable maps, and data sets showing solar resource potential | Concentrating Solar Power, Photovoltaics, CSP, PV | |||||
| Solar Resource Variability | U.S. solar resource data and maps for 1998 to 2005 | Concentrating Solar Power, Photovoltaics, CSP, PV | |||||
| Solar Spectra | Solar spectra data in HTML, text, and spreadsheet formats | Concentrating Solar Power, Photovoltaics, CSP, PV | |||||
| Solar Trace | Transparent permitting, inspection, and interconnection data for residential PV systems | Photovoltaics | |||||
| SolarAPP | Automate and deliver instant permitting data for residential PV systems | Photovoltaics | |||||
| SolarPILOT: Solar Power Tower Integrated and Optimization Tool | Characterizes CSP tower system performance and layout requirements | Concentrating Solar Power | |||||
| SOLPOS: Solar Position and Intensity | Calculates apparent solar position and intensity per date, time, and location | Concentrating Solar Power, Photovoltaics, CSP, PV | |||||
| SolTrace | Models CSP systems and analyzes optical performance | Concentrating Solar Power | |||||
| SPA: Solar Position Algorithm | Calculates the solar zenith and azimuth angles from the year 2000 to 6000 | Concentrating Solar Power, Photovoltaics, CSP, PV | |||||
| Spectral Solar Radiation Data Base | Spectral solar radiation data files for three specific locations in Florida, Colorado, and California | Concentrating Solar Power, Photovoltaics, CSP, PV | |||||
| Standard Contracts and Securitization Resources | Example standard contracts and securitization resources for PV systems | Photovoltaics | |||||
| Standard Scenarios Outlook and Results Viewer | Annual U.S. solar power sector scenarios | Concentrating Solar Power, Photovoltaics, CSP, PV | |||||
| Stochastic Energy Deployment System: Electricity Sector Module | Capacity and characteristics of CSP and PV electricity generation technologies | Concentrating Solar Power, Photovoltaics, CSP, PV, SEDS | |||||
| Thin-Film Solar Cell Current Voltage and Time-Resolved Photoluminescence Simulation Model | Determines minority carrier lifetimes, interface recombination velocities, and other material characteristics | JV, TRPL | |||||
| Tribal Energy Atlas | Techno-economic solar energy potential on U.S. Tribal lands | Concentrating Solar Power, Photovoltaics, CSP, PV | |||||
| WEST Associates Solar Monitoring Network | 1970s data for 52 U.S. stations in six western states | Concentrating Solar Power, Photovoltaics, CSP, PV |
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Last Updated April 8, 2025