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File Formats

SolarAnywhere® Data can be downloaded or emailed in spreadsheet-friendly, comma separated value (CSV) files from the SolarAnywhere data website. SolarAnywhere time-series, typical year and probability of exceedance files are produced in one of two basic formats: SolarAnywhere and TMY3.

Both SolarAnywhere irradiance file formats are compatible with commonly used PV simulation software products such as PVsyst, NREL System Advisor Model (SAM) and Folsom Labs Helioscope. You can self-register for no-cost access to SolarAnywhere Public to view and test each of these formats. Here are descriptions of each:

  • TMY3: The TMY3 format used by SolarAnywhere is described in the Users Manual for TMY3 Data Sets published by the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL). Note that SolarAnywhere TMY3 files only include the fields described below; the remaining fields as described in the NREL users guide are unfilled. For convenience, the TMY3 header also includes the average elevation of the selected location.
  • SolarAnywhere: The native SolarAnywhere file format contains the following fields in the order they are presented.

Fields


Field Name

Description
  • Local standard time not adjusted for Daylight Savings, at the selected geographic location
  • Total irradiance on a horizontal surface on earth
  • Irradiance on a surface normal to the sun that arrives on a direct path from the sun
  • Ambient air temperature at 2-meter height
  • Wind speed at 10-meter height
  • Moisture content of the air at the ambient temperature expressed as a percentage
  • Kilograms per square meter of liquid precipitation
  • Kilograms per square meter of solid precipitation
  • Meters of compacted snow on the ground
  • Total irradiance on a horizontal surface on earth calculated prior to taking cloud cover into consideration
  • Total irradiance on a surface normal to the sun that arrives on a direct path from the sun calculated prior to taking cloud cover into consideration
  • Total irradiance on a horizontal surface on earth that does not arrive on a direct path from the sun calculated prior to taking cloud cover into consideration
  • Two-character code indicating the model used to generate the irradiance value (historical, real-time or forecast) and whether the value was observed, missing, or filled, or estimated; see a list of the codes here
  • The number of hours between the start of the forecast calculation, and the forecast target hour
  • SolarAnywhere model version
  • Greenwich mean time for the observation
  • Irradiance on a horizontal surface on earth that does not arrive on a direct path from the sun
  • One-letter code indicating if the ambient temperature value was observed, missing or filled with the selected missing data fill option. See a breakdown of the codes here
  • One-letter code indicating if the wind speed value was observed, missing, or filled with the selected missing data fill; see a list of the codes here
  • Fraction of GHI reflected off the ground expressed as a decimal, e.g., 0.20
  • Micrograms of small particles and liquid droplets with diameters less than or equal to 10 micrometers suspended in the air per cubic meter of air
  • Micrograms of small particles and liquid droplets with diameters less than or equal to 2.5 micrometers suspended in the air per cubic meter of air
Included in
TMY3 Format?
  • Yes
  • Yes
  • Yes
  • Yes
  • Yes
  • No
  • No
  • No
  • No
  • No
  • No
  • No
  • No
  • No
  • Yes
  • Yes
  • No
  • No
  • No
  • No
  • No
  • No

Meta Data

The first row in SolarAnywhere-format data files contains standard TMY3 format header information, plus a summary comment. From left to right, the columns correspond to:

  1. Site identifier code – Because SolarAnywhere data covers areas where no TMY3 site exists, we report all site identifier codes as ‘0.’
  2. Site name – This is the site name specified by the user before downloading the data. If a site name is not specified, this will default to the coordinates of the site. Edit the site name by clicking the pencil icon that appears beside it when you mouse-over the current name.
  3. Station state – Always listed as “NA” since our data tiles can include multiple states.
  4. Site time zone – Listed in hours offset from GMT; time zones west of Greenwich are negative (e.g., PST is 8 hours behind UTC, therefore PST is listed as -8).
  5. Site latitude – In decimal degrees.
  6. Site longitude – In decimal degrees.
  7. Site elevation – In meters.
  8. Summary comment:
    1. Data version – The SolarAnywhere data version.
    2. File type – Typical Year, Timeseries or PXX (1-99) file types.
    3. Latitude/Longitude resolution – Spatial resolution of the selected tile in decimal degrees.
    4. Time resolution – Period between data points.
    5. Averaging method – Will always be end-of-period.
    6. Copyright information

File Naming

Files downloaded from the SolarAnywhere data website will have one of the following naming conventions:

 

Typical Year

{Site Name} SolarAnywhere Typical {GHI or DNI} Year Lat_{Site Latitude} Lon_{Site Longitude} {Format}.csv

  • SolarAnywhere format
  • TMY3 format
  • Montana Site SolarAnywhere Typical GHI Year Lat_46_365 Lon_-108_275 SA format.csv
  • Montana Site SolarAnywhere Typical GHI Year Lat_46_365 Lon_-108_275 TMY3 format.csv

Average Year Summary

{Site Name} SolarAnywhere Average Year Summary Lat_{Site Latitude} Lon_{Site Longitude}.csv

Example: Montana Site SolarAnywhere Average Year Summary Lat_46_365 Lon_-108_275.csv

 

Time Series

{Site Name} SolarAnywhere Time Series {Date Range} Lat_{Site Latitude} Lon_{Site Longitude} {Format}.csv

  • SolarAnywhere format
  • TMY3 format
  • Montana Site SolarAnywhere Time Series 19980101 to 20210526 Lat_46_365 Lon_-108_275 SA format.csv
  • Montana Site SolarAnywhere Time Series 19980101 to 20210526 Lat_46_365 Lon_-108_275 TMY3 format.csv

Probability of Exceedance

{Site Name} SolarAnywhere {Probability of Exceedance Level} Lat_{Site Latitude} Lon_{Site Longitude} {Format}.csv

  • SolarAnywhere format
  • TMY3 format
  • Montana Site SolarAnywhere P85 Lat_46_365 Lon_-108_275 SA format.csv
  • Montana Site SolarAnywhere P85 Lat_46_365 Lon_-108_275 TMY3 format.csv

Hindcast

{Site Name} SolarAnywhere Hindcast {Date Range} Lat_{Site Latitude} Lon_{Site Longitude} {Format}.csv

  • SolarAnywhere format
  • TMY3 format
  • Montana Site SolarAnywhere Hindcast 20190101 to 20201230 Lat_46_365 Lon_-108_275 SA format.csv
  • Montana Site SolarAnywhere Hindcast 20190101 to 20201230 Lat_46_365 Lon_-108_275 TMY3 format.csv