One-Year Solar Irradiance Measurements from a 1-Kilometer Grid on Oahu

Seventeen stations in a 1-kilometer grid on Oahu collected solar irradiance data at 1-second intervals for a full year. This dataset, funded by the U.S. Department of Energy and created by NREL researcher Manajit Sengupta, supports the Hawaii Clean Energy Initiative. The high-resolution measurements are intended for modeling photovoltaic system output.

Use Cases

• Modeling photovoltaic output for medium and large systems based on 1-second irradiance data.
• Analyzing spatial variability of solar resources across a 1-kilometer measurement grid.
• Developing short-term solar forecasting algorithms using high-temporal-resolution ground truth.
• Studying renewable energy integration challenges for island grids like Hawaii's.

Strengths

• Data collected at a high 1-second temporal resolution for an entire year.
• Measurements from 17 spatially distributed stations in a 1-kilometer grid.
• Created by NREL with funding from the U.S. Department of Energy, indicating authoritative provenance.

Limitations

• Column-level documentation is absent; field semantics must be inferred after download.
• Row count and file formats are unknown, which may limit suitability assessment.
• Last update date is unknown; freshness unverified.

Provenance

Source

National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), U.S. Department of Energy.

Collection Method

Data collected by 17 ground-based measurement stations.

Time Range

One year (specific years not stated).

Freshness

Last updated date is unknown.

Geography

Southwestern region of the island of Oahu, Hawaii, USA.