Blog

A collection of our current and past announcements, events and thoughts on everything related to the solar-powered future
Evaluating accuracy III: PV power data
Dr. Hugh Cutcher

Dr. Hugh Cutcher

Evaluating accuracy III: PV power data

Evaluating PV Power models is essential to understand how your model processes data and considers PV Power losses. Here is a detailed guide to help you assess a forecast dataset.

Aurora Solar powering residential solar with quality insights
Harry Woods

Harry Woods

Aurora Solar powering residential solar with quality insights

Reliable solar data is critical when planning, designing, and building residential solar assets to ensure maximized energy generation potential. Learn how Aurora Solar enhanced its platform with Solcast TMY data, empowering more residential solar professionals.

Evaluating accuracy II: Forecast irradiance data
Dr. Hugh Cutcher

Dr. Hugh Cutcher

Evaluating accuracy II: Forecast irradiance data

Evaluating forecast irradiance data is essential in ensuring that you're using a reliable data to effectively design and operate your solar assets. Here is a detailed guide to help you assess a forecast dataset.

Why did Solcast choose DNV?
James Luffman

James Luffman

Why did Solcast choose DNV?

Solcast has now joined DNV, as announced February 1st 2023. For our customers, nothing is changing. Solcast is still operating from our Sydney Office. We have the same great team and products - and DNV is investing to support our growth.

Solcast integrates with NREL SAM
Solcast Team

Solcast Team

Solcast integrates with NREL SAM

Solcast API Toolkit users can now access Solcast TMY data directly from within SAM through the use of a new software script. This script is available on GitHub. This short tutorial will show you how to import and use Solcast TMY data.

Load Forecasting Case Study with TESLA Forecast
Dr. Nick Engerer

Dr. Nick Engerer

Load Forecasting Case Study with TESLA Forecast

Solcast has an established history of collaboration with load forecasting tech company, TESLA Forecast. Together, we're taking on the next generation of rooftop solar challenges in South Australia. Learn more in our case study.

Meteonorm dataset limitations
Dr. Nick Engerer

Dr. Nick Engerer

Meteonorm dataset limitations

The key limitations of Meteonorm's representativeness lie within the use of 1) interpolated and 2) synthetic data. Interpolations rely heavily on surface observation data, which are not equally distributed. Synthetic estimates are useful when high quality direct observational data does not exist. However, given the presence of a global fleet of high resolution weather satellites that directly image cloud cover - this is not the case.

Browsable global solar radiation maps are live
Dr. Nick Engerer

Dr. Nick Engerer

Browsable global solar radiation maps are live

Browse animated solar radiation maps in your area of interest - updated daily! Includes a history, broken down by date with global coverage. It's our new solar radiation map archive and it's totally rad.

Malaysian solar power forecasting requirements
Dr. Nick Engerer

Dr. Nick Engerer

Malaysian solar power forecasting requirements

"We enjoy a considerable amount of hot and sunny weather in Malaysia but we also have very low cloud cover. The other challenge is of course electricity generated must be used immediately." -TNB Chairman Tan Sri Leo Moggie-

Solar power forecasting in Vietnam made easy
Dr. Nick Engerer

Dr. Nick Engerer

Solar power forecasting in Vietnam made easy

"Despite the fact that solar power is a valuable capacity addition to the power system which is facing difficulties in power supplies, a large number of solar power plants coming into operation in a short period have been causing many challenges to the operation of power system." - EVN NLDC.

Solar power forecasting in Ukraine
James Luffman

James Luffman

Solar power forecasting in Ukraine

Solar power forecasting is becoming essential for successful grid integration in Ukraine. Accurate forecasts can help with day-ahead bidding of power, by allowing larger bids and/or reducing imbalance or accuracy penalties.

Let Solcast take the pain out of PV generation forecasting at your solar farm asset
Dr. Nick Engerer

Dr. Nick Engerer

Let Solcast take the pain out of PV generation forecasting at your solar farm asset

Owners and operators of solar farms already have one too many things to think about. Compliance items stack up by the thousands very quickly. Utilities providing their network connections can impose new requirements without warning. Manufacturers of key components can go bankrupt and leave you without an important spare part! Don't let setting up solar forecasting technology at your asset be another pain-point. Use the Solcast API Toolkit!

Lowering uncertainty is fundamental to managing solar investment risk
Dr. Nick Engerer

Dr. Nick Engerer

Lowering uncertainty is fundamental to managing solar investment risk

The principal input to the rate of return calculation for a solar farm asset is the expected revenue generation from the solar farm. This highlights the importance of high quality solar irradiance data: revenue generation is primarily influenced by the availability of solar irradiance at that location over time.

Solar GIS Data for the Solar Powered Future

Solar GIS Data for the Solar Powered Future

Solar GIS data includes both a given location (latitude and longitude), plus time-series information (attribute) about the historical, live or forecast solar irradiance and weather at that location.

Solar forecasting for electricity networks
Dr. Nick Engerer

Dr. Nick Engerer

Solar forecasting for electricity networks

Through creation of customised Solcast Grid Aggregations for the behind the meter solar installed downstream of a particular zone substation, this distribution network was finally able to correct the apparent (net) demand profiles for the impacts of cloud cover.

Solar Power Forecasting: what it is and how to do it
Dr. Nick Engerer

Dr. Nick Engerer

Solar Power Forecasting: what it is and how to do it

Solar power forecasting is at its core a weather forecasting problem. It starts with modeling of the Sun's position with respect to a given location at the Earth's surface, before then modeling the transmittance of solar radiation through the Earth's atmosphere.

Solar Power Forecasting for Utility Scale Farms
Dr. Nick Engerer

Dr. Nick Engerer

Solar Power Forecasting for Utility Scale Farms

Solcast have worked diligently to enable the hard-working folks who are managing, operating and deploying utility scale solar farm sites by delivering on an easy to use and easy to understand forecasting solution via API

Global Solar Irradiance Forecasts and Historical Datasets
Dr. Nick Engerer

Dr. Nick Engerer

Global Solar Irradiance Forecasts and Historical Datasets

When we first launched the Solcast API in early 2017, the Solcast team was excited to learn more about the market for historical and forecast solar irradiance and solar power data services. Now, 18 months later, with nearly a thousand users across five continents, we see no better way to launch our company blog than by thanking those users for their commitment to the integration of solar energy, and for being such forward-thinking early adopters of the Solcast API. So - Thank you!

Behind-the-Meter Solar PV Forecasting in West Australia
James Luffman

James Luffman

Behind-the-Meter Solar PV Forecasting in West Australia

Behind the meter solar PV power forecasting is an essential tool for accurate supply and demand balance for grid operators. And with rooftop PV installations in Western Australia growing quickly, load forecasting is becoming increasingly difficult for our partner Western Power.