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At least 163 records · Page 9

An Evaluation of the Spectral Irradiance Data from the NSRDB

A recent effort by the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) has led to a new radiative transfer model, the Fast All-sky Radiation Model for Solar applications with Narrowband Irradiances on Tilted surfaces (FARMS-NIT), to efficiently compute spectral irradiances in the plane-of-array (POA). This model has been implemented in the National Solar Radiation Data Base (NSRDB) to provide photovoltaic (PV) resource in both narrowband and broadband wavelengths. This study conducts an evaluation of the spectral irradiances from the PV Resource dataset using surface-based observations at NREL’s Solar Radiation Research Laboratory (SRRL) and University of Oregon (UO). The results demonstrate that the PV resource has a generally good agreement with the long-term observations in both clear-sky and cloudy-sky conditions. Further research is needed to reduce the overestimation of visible irradiances in clear sky conditions and underestimation of near-infrared irradiances in cloudy-sky conditions.

14 SOLAR ENERGY↗

AlgoSCR: an algorithm for solar contamination removal from radio interferometric data

Hydrogen intensity mapping is a new field in astronomy that promises to make three-dimensional maps of the matter distribution of the Universe using the redshifted 21cm line of neutral hydrogen gas (HI). Several ongoing and upcoming radio interferometers, such as Tianlai, CHIME, HERA, HIRAX, etc., are using this technique. These instruments are designed to map large swaths of the sky by drift scanning over periods of many months. One of the challenges of the observations is that the daytime data are contaminated by strong radio signals from the Sun. In the case of Tianlai, this results in almost half of the measured data being unusable. We try to address this issue by developing an algorithm for solar contamination removal (AlgoSCR) from the radio data. The algorithm is based on an eigenvalue analysis of the visibility matrix and hence is applicable only to interferometers. We apply AlgoSCR to simulated visibilities, as well as real daytime data from the Tianlai dish array. The algorithm can reduce strong solar contamination by about 95 per cent without seriously affecting other weaker sky signals and thus makes the data usable for certain applications.

46 INSTRUMENTATION RELATED TO NUCLEAR SCIENCE AND ↗

The WRF-Solar Ensemble Prediction System: Development, Test, and Validation

Providing reliable probabilistic solar radiation information is needed to improve management of the uncertainty and variability of solar generation. Thus, guidance on how to develop skillful and accurate ensemble forecasts is essential and it will ultimately contribute to integration of high amounts of solar energy on the grid. A team from the National Renewable Energy Laboratory and the National Center for Atmospheric Research had been collaborating to develop the WRF-Solar ensemble prediction system (WRF-Solar EPS) in the past three years to produce probabilistic solar irradiance forecasts and better predict solar energy by quantifying forecast uncertainty. The WRF-Solar EPS basically generates ensemble members for solar irradiance based on stochastic perturbations to provide intraday and day-ahead probabilistic forecasts. This study will present main research steps in developing the WRF-Solar EPS including: (a) tangent linear analysis for identifying key input variables of six WRF-Solar modules significantly related to predicting of cloud and solar irradiance, (b) combining stochastic perturbation technique with the WRF-Solar model, and (c) ensemble calibration method to decrease error and uncertainty of ensemble-based solar forecasts. The capability of WRF-Solar EPS is now updated to the most recent version of standard WRF model. This presentation will summarize comprehensive results from the evaluation of forecasts against the National Solar Radiation Data Base as well as ground-measured observations. Moreover, we will introduce the user's guide for WRF-Solar EPS (e.g., parameters to configure stochastic perturbations) and future extension of this research.

day-ahead forecast↗

Removing solar artifacts from Geostationary Lightning Mapper data to document lightning extremes

Here, we compare the performance of three different filters that identify solar artifacts in the Geostationary Lightning Mapper (GLM) data. These filters differ in their complexity and intended use. We use the most appropriate filters to document the severity of GLM solar contamination and to compute the frequency of extreme Americas lightning. Solar artifacts occur at an average rate of one every ~8 min. Due to their continuous emissions across a portion of the GLM CCD array, these events disproportionately contribute to the GLM event and group rates. Up to 40% of all events recorded between 10:00 and 12:00 local time during 2018 were solar artifacts. The frequency-domain solar filter also reveals a carrier wave at 50 to 60 Hz in some lightning flashes and solar episodes that appears to be anthropogenic in origin. Removing the relatively frequent solar artifact cases reveals rare cases of extreme lightning flashes. Exceptional flashes on the order of 500+ km in length and 10+ s in duration only occur a few times per year and are produced by storms that are predisposed for exceptional lightning rather than as single random occurrences.

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES↗

Exploring Wholesale Energy Price Trends: The Renewables and Wholesale Electricity Prices (ReWEP) tool (Ver. 2024.1)

The Renewables and Wholesale Electricity Prices (ReWEP) visualization tool from Berkeley Lab has been updated with nodal electricity pricing and wind and solar generation data through the end of 2023. ReWEP users can explore trends in wholesale electricity prices and their relationship to wind and solar generation. ReWEP includes nodal pricing trends across locations, regions, and different timeframes. The tool consists of maps, time series, and other interactive figures that provide: (1) a general overview of how average pricing, negative price frequency, and extreme high prices vary over time, and (2) a summary of how pricing patterns are related to wind and solar generation. Interactive functionality allows investigation by year, season, time of day, and region, where region is defined as the Independent System Operators (ISO) or Regional Transmission Organizations (RTO) region. ReWEP also contains prices throughout much of the western United States from the Western Energy Imbalance Market and the Western Energy Imbalance Service Market.

29 ENERGY PLANNING, POLICY, AND ECONOMY↗

Exploring Wholesale Energy Price Trends: The Renewables and Wholesale Electricity Prices (ReWEP) tool (Ver. 2024.1)

The Renewables and Wholesale Electricity Prices (ReWEP) visualization tool from Berkeley Lab has been updated with nodal electricity pricing and wind and solar generation data through the end of 2023. ReWEP users can explore trends in wholesale electricity prices and their relationship to wind and solar generation. ReWEP includes nodal pricing trends across locations, regions, and different timeframes. The tool consists of maps, time series, and other interactive figures that provide: (1) a general overview of how average pricing, negative price frequency, and extreme high prices vary over time, and (2) a summary of how pricing patterns are related to wind and solar generation. Interactive functionality allows investigation by year, season, time of day, and region, where region is defined as the Independent System Operators (ISO) or Regional Transmission Organizations (RTO) region. ReWEP also contains prices throughout much of the western United States from the Western Energy Imbalance Market and the Western Energy Imbalance Service Market.

29 ENERGY PLANNING, POLICY, AND ECONOMY↗

DEPRECATED - State Policies and Programs for Community Solar (2022)

This data set is no longer current – The most current data and all historical data sets can be found at https://data.nlr.gov/submissions/249 The purpose of this dataset is to summarize current community solar policies and low-income stipulations by the state in the United States as of December 2022. The "State_Program" sheet summarizes the key policy details for each state. This dataset is associated with the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) publication "Expanding Solar Access: State Community Solar Landscape (2022)." https://www.nlr.gov/docs/fy23osti/84247.pdf This list has been reviewed, but errors may exist, and the list may not be comprehensive. NREL invites input to update or add to the database. Please submit updates, additions, or corrections please find contact information on the current data set page linked above.

14 SOLAR ENERGY↗

Consensus International Solar Resource Standards and Best Practices Development

Standardization and best practices of data sets and models enable the industry to develop widely accepted protocols adapted to various stages of solar project development and operations. In collaboration with the International Energy Agency Photovoltaic Power Systems Programme Task 16, the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) developed and regularly updates the Best Practices Handbook for the Collection and Use of Solar Resource Data for Solar Energy Applications. In collaboration with ASTM's radiometry subcommittee, NREL leads the development of various radiometric standards. These contribute to increased accuracy in the measurement of the solar resource available to conversion systems and boost the development and improvement of radiative models. These models can then provide the long-term geographic or climatic distribution of solar radiation for areas where measured solar data are not available. Further, these standards play a preeminent role in all aspects of solar energy projects, including standard conditions, methods and instrumentation, accelerated testing, and service lifetime of materials.

ASTM↗

Capitalizing on nuclear data libraries' comprehensiveness to obtain solar r-process abundances

The recent observation of neutron stars merger by the LIGO collaboration and the measurements of the event’s electromagnetic spectrum as a function of time for different wavelengths, have altered profoundly our understanding of the r-process site, as well as considerably energized nuclear astrophysics research efforts. R -process abundances are a key element in r-process simulations, as a successful calculation must account for these abundances in the final debris of a stellar cataclysmic event. In this letter, mankind’s complete knowledge of neutron cross sections obtained in the last80 years, as encapsulated in the latest release of the Evaluated Nuclear Data File (ENDF/B) library, is used to obtain solar r-process abundances in a novel way. Here, ENDF/B cross sections has been successfully used for decades in nuclear power and defense applications and are now used to obtain r-process abundances in a fully traceable, documented and unbiased way.

73 NUCLEAR PHYSICS AND RADIATION PHYSICS↗

Consensus International Solar Resource Standards and Best Practices Development: Preprint

Standardization and best practices of data sets and models enable the industry to develop widely accepted protocols for various stages of solar project development and operations. In collaboration with the International Energy Agency Photovoltaic Power Systems Programme Task 16, the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) developed and regularly updates the Best Practices Handbook for the Collection and Use of Solar Resource Data for Solar Energy Applications. In collaboration with ASTM members on the radiometry subcommittee, NREL assists in and leads the development of radiometric standards that contribute to increased accuracy in the measurement of solar resources available to conversion systems and to the development and improvement of models. These models can then provide long-term geographic distribution of solar resources for areas where measured solar data are not available. Further, these standards play a preeminent role in all aspects of solar energy projects, including standard conditions, methods and instrumentation, accelerated testing, and service lifetime of materials.

41 EE - Solar Energy Technologies Office (EE-4S)↗

A Multivariate Space‐Time Dynamic Model for Characterizing the Atmospheric Impacts Following the Mt. Pinatubo Eruption

The June 1991 Mt. Pinatubo eruption resulted in a massive increase of sulfate aerosols in the atmosphere, absorbing radiation and leading to global changes in surface and stratospheric temperatures. A volcanic eruption of this magnitude serves as a natural analog for stratospheric aerosol injection, a proposed solar radiation modification method to combat a warming climate. The impacts of such an event are multifaceted and region-specific. Our goal is to characterize the multivariate and dynamic nature of the atmospheric impacts following the Mt. Pinatubo eruption. We developed a multivariate space-time dynamic linear model to understand the full extent of the spatially- and temporally-varying impacts. Specifically, spatial variation is modeled using a flexible set of basis functions for which the basis coefficients are allowed to vary in time through a vector autoregressive (VAR) structure. This novel model is cast in a Dynamic Linear Model (DLM) framework and estimated via a customized MCMC approach. We demonstrate how the model quantifies the relationships between key atmospheric parameters prior to and following the Mt. Pinatubo eruption with reanalysis data from MERRA-2 and highlight when such a model is advantageous over univariate models.

Dynamic Linear Model↗

NREL Pyrheliometer Comparisons: September 23 - September 28, 2023 (NPC-2023)

Accurate measurements of direct normal (beam) solar irradiance from pyrheliometers are important for developing and deploying solar energy conversion systems, for improving our understanding of Earth's energy budget for climate change studies, and for other science and technology applications involving solar flux. Providing these measurements places many demands on the quality system used by the operator of commercially available radiometers. Maintaining accurate radiometer calibrations that are traceable to an international standard is the first step in producing research-quality solar irradiance measurements. In 1977, the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) established the World Radiometric Reference (WRR) as the international standard for the measurement of direct normal solar irradiance (Frohlich 1991). The WRR is an internationally recognized, detector-based measurement standard determined by the collective performance of six electrically self-calibrated absolute cavity radiometers comprising the World Standard Group (WSG). Various countries, including the United States, have contributed these specialized radiometers to the Physikalisch-Meteorologisches Observatorium Davos - World Radiation Center (PMOD/WRC) to establish the WSG. As with all measurement systems, Absolute Cavity Radiometers (ACR) are subject to performance changes over time. Therefore, PMOD/WRC in Davos, Switzerland, hosts an quinquennial International Pyrheliometer Comparison (IPC) event for transferring the WRR to participating radiometers by invitation. The National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) has represented the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) in each IPC since 1980. And NREL has developed and maintained a select group of absolute cavity radiometers with direct calibration traceability to the WRR, and it uses these reference instruments to calibrate pyrheliometers and pyranometers using the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) 17025-accredited Broadband Outdoor Radiometer Calibration (BORCAL) process (Reda et al. 2008). To fill the gap between each IPC, NREL pyrheliometer comparisons (NPCs) are held annually at the Solar Radiation Research Laboratory (SRRL) in Golden, Colorado. Open to all ACR owners and operators, each NPC provides an opportunity to determine the unique WRR transfer factor (WRR-TF) for each participating pyrheliometer. By adjusting all subsequent pyrheliometer measurements by the appropriate WRR-TF, the solar irradiance data are traceable to the WRR.

14 SOLAR ENERGY↗

Downwelling Shortwave and Longwave Irradiance from CC-RIDER on Mount Soledad

The Clouds and Climate - Remote Integrated Deployment of Radiometers (CC-RIDER) is a suite of five Eppley Laboratory (Inc.) instruments that was deployed during EPCAPE at the secondary Mount Soledad site in La Jolla, CA. A primary and backup Precision Spectral Pyranometer (PSP Primary, PSP Backup) measured broadband downwelling shortwave irradiance in the spectral interval 280-2800 nm. A third Precision Spectral Pyranometer (PSP NIR) was fitted with a near-infrared long pass filter and measured downwelling shortwave irradiance in the spectral interval 780-2800 nm. A Total Ultraviolet Radiometer (TUVR) measured broadband downwelling broadband ultraviolet irradiance in the spectral interval 295-385 nm. A Precision Infrared Radiometer (PIR) Pyrgeometer measured downwelling broadband longwave irradiance in the spectral interval 3.5 - 50 microns. Data collection began on 18 April 2023 at 21:31 UTC and ended on 20 February 2024 at 22:34 UTC. Data were recorded by a Campbell Scientific (Inc.) CR1000X datalogger in one-minute intervals, for a total of 443584 data records. The datalogger was solar powered enabling data collection to proceed without interruption from start to finish.

Clouds and Climate – Remote Integrated DEployement↗

An open-access database and analysis tool for perovskite solar cells based on the FAIR data principles

Large datasets are now ubiquitous as technology enables higher-throughput experiments, but rarely can a research field truly benefit from the research data generated due to inconsistent formatting, undocumented storage or improper dissemination. Here we extract all the meaningful device data from peer-reviewed papers on metal-halide perovskite solar cells published so far and make them available in a database. We collect data from over 42,400 photovoltaic devices with up to 100 parameters per device. We then develop open-source and accessible procedures to analyse the data, providing examples of insights that can be gleaned from the analysis of a large dataset. The database, graphics and analysis tools are made available to the community and will continue to evolve as an open-source initiative. This approach of extensively capturing the progress of an entire field, including sorting, interactive exploration and graphical representation of the data, will be applicable to many fields in materials science, engineering and biosciences.

14 SOLAR ENERGY↗

A Physics-Based DNI Model for Advancing Solar Resource Assessment and Forecasting: Preprint

Direct Normal Irradiance (DNI) is one of the most used quantities to quantify the magnitude of solar energy resource. The concept of DNI is often interpreted differently for ground measurements and solar forecasting by numerical weather prediction (NWP) models, leading to substantial bias during evaluation of DNI forecasts especially under cloudy-sky conditions. To eliminate the bias, we use the Fast All-sky Radiation Model for Solar applications with DNI (FARMS-DNI) to provide a physics-based solution of solar radiation in the circumsolar region. The FARMS-DNI is implemented in the Weather Research and Forecasting model with solar extensions (WRF-Solar) to forecast day-ahead DNI in the north America. By comparing with conventional predictions from WRF-Solar and satellite observations from the National Solar Radiation Data Base (NSRDB), we found significant improvements in our prediction of DNI.

DNI↗