Primary Uses
- Project feasibility
- Portfolio evaluation
- Site planning
- Validating observations with a historical perspective
As a leading innovator in atmospheric sciences for the renewable energy industry, 3TIER provides scientifically derived solar resource assessments based on cutting edge techniques, enabling accurate and in-depth evaluation of larger commercial and utility-scale solar projects. Our FullView Solar Site Resource Assessment not only provides a historical perspective based on a 10 to 13-year dataset, it also incorporates your on-site observations to calibrate the model run and improve our satellite derived irradiance values using advanced statistical techniques. This methodology offers added precision for the resulting report, which determines the intensity and variability of your solar resource.
This report combines the comprehensive, easily interpreted graphs, histograms, tables, and other analysis of our FullView Solar Site CVA with advanced statistical techniques, producing more precise data at a higher resolution. By taking on-site observations into account in our model simulations we are able to fine-tune the irradiance values to the environmental context of your particular site. In addition, the wind and temperature data included in this report are also based on a higher resolution 4.5 km numerical weather prediction (NWP) model run. This means 10 to 13 years of 10-meter wind speed data and 2-meter temperature data have been produced for your specific project location at a fine spatial resolution.
The FullView Solar Site Resource Assessment is designed for projects with at least one year of solar observational data, taken either with a pyranometer or pyrheliometer. With this information, 3TIER can apply advanced model output statistics (or MOS) to our satellite derived irradiance values. This process significantly improves RMSE (Root Mean Square Error) and model bias compared to actual observations. To verify the improved accuracy of this method, when MOS correction is performed, 3TIER provides validation statistics and a report comparing the results of the satellite-derived time-series and the MOS-corrected time-series against collected observations.
Along with the analysis of our FullView Solar Site CVA, the report applies a technique called MOS (Model Output Statistics) to significantly improve RMSE (Root Mean Square Error) and remove bias in our satellite derived irradiance values. By taking on-site measurements into account, we are able to fine-tune the irradiance values to the environmental context of your particular site. When MOS is performed 3TIER provides a validation report comparing the results of the satellite-derived time-series and the MOS-corrected time-series against client observations. In addition, the wind and temperature data included in the report are based on a higher resolution 4.5 km NWP (Numerical Weather Prediction) model run. This means 10 to 13 years of 10-meter wind speed data and 2-meter temperature data have been produced for your specific project location at a fine spatial resolution.
As a single data source for locations worldwide, 3TIER solar assessment reports allow you to make more informed decisions and offer a consistent approach to solar assessment. Our reports are based on a global, high-resolution solar irradiance dataset and uniform methodologies, enabling more accurate point-to-point comparisons and providing you with a clearer picture of the risks for every potential site in your portfolio.
| 3TIER Solar Time-series | FullView Solar Site CVA | FullView Solar Site Resource Assessment | |
| Product Features | |||
| Annual-Mean Irradiance maps of GHI, DNI, DIF | X | ||
| Monthly-Mean Irradiance maps of GHI, DNI, DIF | X | ||
| Monthly variation of Irradiance | X | ||
| Diurnal variation of Irradiance | X | ||
| Irradiance histograms for GHI, DNI, DIF | X | ||
| Monthly variation of Irradiance (with MOS correction) | X | ||
| Diurnal variation of Irradiance (with MOS correction) | X | ||
| Irradiance histograms for GHI, DNI, DIF (with MOS correction) | X | ||
| Monthly temperature and wind speed variability (min, mean, max) | X | X | |
| Diurnal temperature and wind speed variability and 12x24 table of hourly means | X | X | |
| Time-series for solar GHI, DNI, DIF | X | X | |
| Time-series for solar GHI, DNI, DIF with MOS correction | X | ||
| Time-series for 10 meter wind speed and 2 meter temperature (length dependent on region of purchase) | X | ||
| Time-series for wind speed and temperature based on 4.5 km NWP model run | X | ||
| Validation Report on the MOS-corrected irradiance time-series compared to observations | X |
Portable Document File (PDF) report and data files in an easily integrated, comma-separated value (CSV) format.
FullView Solar Site Resource Assessment utilizes 3TIER's satellite derived, high-resolution solar dataset along with on-site observations to deliver a MOS-corrected assessment of GHI (Global Horizontal Irradiance), DNI (Direct Normal Irradiance), and DIF (Diffuse Horizontal Irradiance) values at roughly a 3 km resolution. This process removes bias and adjusts the variance of the irradiance data to better match the provided observations.
Wind and temperature data are based on a customized 4.5 km NWP (Numerical Weather Prediction) model run for your particular site. 3TIER employs an NWP model called WRF (Weather Research and Forecasting). This model is widely supported and continually enhanced by the global atmospheric science and research community.
3TIER produced the first global solar irradiance map and time-series dataset at roughly three times the resolution of previous US solar datasets and at thirty times the resolution of global datasets available from NASA. Based on over a decade of satellite imagery and cutting-edge technology, our uniform methodology is supported by a large scientific and research community and results in a consistent map and dataset, enabling more accurate point-to-point comparisons.
The dataset is based on actual, half-hourly, high-resolution visible satellite imagery observations via the broadband visible wavelength channel at a 2 arc minute resolution. These data have been processed to hourly GHI, DNI, and DIF values. 3TIER processes the satellite images based on a combination of in-house research and algorithms published in peer- reviewed scientific literature. These algorithms contain parameters and coefficients that are based on empirical fits to observational data. The specific satellites and length of time varies slightly by region due to differences in the availability of data from region to region. See the chart below for more details.
| Regions | Satellites | Temporal Coverage |
| Western Hemisphere | GOES 8 - 12 | 13 years (January 1997 - December 2009) |
| South Asia and Middle East | Meteosat 5, Meteosat 7 | 10 years (January 1999 – April 2009) |
| East Asia and Oceania | GMS 5, GOES 9, AMTSAT | 10 years (December 1999 – March 2009) |
| Europe and Africa | Meteosat 7, Meteosat 9 | 11 years (July 1998 – June 2009) |
To develop and validate our model, 3TIER used observations from:
Find our validation papers here.
In order for us to process this report, you must provide the center latitude and longitude of your solar site and one year of high quality, solar irradiance observations taken within 2 km of the solar site.
If you are unfamiliar with the technical terminology on this page, please visit our Glossary for more information.
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