Solar and Meteorological Measurements at University of Louisiana

Comprising solar and meteorological measurements from a monitoring station at the University of Louisiana at Lafayette, collected through a partnership with the U.S. Department of Energy's National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL). It monitors global, direct, and diffuse irradiance to define the solar energy potential at this location, accompanied by meteorological equipment. The data was last updated in March 2026.

Use Cases

• Analyze global, direct, and diffuse irradiance measurements to model solar power generation potential at the station's location.
• Correlate solar irradiance data with meteorological variables like wind, temperature, and humidity to study environmental impacts on solar energy yield.
• Use pressure and precipitation data alongside solar measurements to build integrated weather and renewable energy forecasting models.
• Validate pyranometer and radiometer instrumentation readings for solar energy research and system performance benchmarking.

Strengths

• Data is sourced from a partnership between a university and the U.S. Department of Energy's National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), indicating authoritative collection.
• The dataset includes a comprehensive suite of measurement tags covering solar irradiance (global, direct, diffuse) and multiple meteorological parameters (wind, temperature, pressure, humidity, precipitation).
• The record was last updated in March 2026, suggesting recent maintenance or data collection activity.

Limitations

• The specific data volume (rows), column structure, and file size are unknown, complicating assessment of scale and direct usability for analysis.
• The primary file format is listed as HTML, which is atypical for structured scientific data and may require significant parsing or conversion for analytical use.
• Spatial coverage is limited to a single measurement station at the University of Louisiana, restricting geographical generalizability.

Provenance

Source

U.S. Department of Energy, National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) in partnership with the University of Louisiana at Lafayette.

Collection Method

Collected by a solar measurement station monitoring irradiance and accompanying meteorological monitoring equipment.

Freshness

Last updated on 2026-03-21.

Geography

University of Louisiana at Lafayette, United States.