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Change is a constant: why agile software development fits today’s utility
As a developer of software for utility companies, we're frequently asked for information about integrating PowerClerk®, WattPlan® and SolarAnywhere® into utility processes. Often these requests include long lists of questions about product features and pricing, as...
A better way for utilities to forecast DER adoption
Since the Great Recession, utility planners have consistently over forecasted peak and total load. Econometric models used in the past are failing: energy efficiency continues to decouple load growth from Gross Domestic Product and customer energy habits are changing....
New SolarAnywhere PXX Data Streamline Probability of Exceedance Energy Calculations
Until now, SolarAnywhere® has offered two types of data: time-series and typical year (TGY). Today we’ve added a third option, probability of exceedance, or PXX for short. The “XX” refers to the probability that the level of irradiance will be exceeded in a given...
Solar+ home proven: a milestone reached
This article is a follow-on to Clean Power Research’s 11-part series on Solar+ homes series. Solar+ homes describes how homeowners can combine simple energy efficiency measures, solar PV, electric vehicles (EVs) and appliance electrification to create households that...
Accurate DER data is key for utility planning: PowerClerk makes it possible
A key to managing utility distributed energy resource (DER) programs is capturing the right information—not only to complete interconnection requests, but also to support a host of emerging utility planning and business intelligence needs. As discussed in a previous...
Higher-resolution data and broader geographic access with new SolarAnywhere Data license options
Thanks to our subscribers, partners and hard-working development team, SolarAnywhere® has become the most trusted and vetted solar resource dataset available. In 2017 alone, the SolarAnywhere team: Topped an EPRI study for forecasting Spotted a calibration issue at...
Defining DERs: Does it matter that we all seem to have slightly different definitions?
Over the last few years, the term DER has become more and more commonplace in the energy space. Most of us know that this three letter acronym (TLA, get it?) stands for Distributed Energy Resources, but what Distributed Energy Resources are might be a bit fuzzier....
Hot Topics at DistribuTECH 2018: The rise of DERMS, integrated interconnection and DER adoption planning
Every year we’re inspired at DistribuTECH, where in 2018 more than 11,000 participants from over 70 countries gathered in San Antonio to discuss the latest topics on grid modernization. For Clean Power Research and our customers, there was ample evidence that many of...
The future of solar forecasting with the new GOES-16 satellite
The SolarAnywhere® team transforms satellite images into industry-leading solar irradiance data. We make algorithms, not satellites, so when NOAA/NASA upgrades the hardware, we take notice of the possibilities—and get to work. On January 2, 2018 we made a seamless...
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Impact of the North American Monsoon on solar variability
Solar energy output is predominantly affected by seasonal solar variations and weather. The angle of the sun to the solar panel changes with the time of day and seasonal variations, changing the available solar resource in predictable ways. Weather also affects the...
2014 solar trends episode 3: Solar Financing – A New Hope
Financing has been with solar since its earliest days. Before the lease and the power purchase agreement (PPA), residential solar customers would often purchase systems with cash. Cash payments are a form of financing, as the customer is choosing to purchase a solar...
Flexibility meets reliability: PVWatts and NSRDB now available through Clean Power Research API services
In keeping with our mission of powering intelligent energy decisions, Clean Power Research is introducing a 10 km Typical Meteorological Year (TMY) dataset for use in Clean Power Research API services. Programmatic access to this high-resolution dataset and the...
Power from solar: how much can you expect?
Determining whether solar is right for you depends in large part on the amount of solar resource available where you live. Each month, we generate the PV Power Map using SolarAnywhere® irradiance data. These maps provide more than just an indication of the solar...
Case study: Forecasting production of 170,000+ distributed PV systems
Falling photovoltaic (PV) system prices along with financing and installation innovations are driving continued rooftop solar growth—expected to be 30% in 2013 as reported by GTM Research. These customer-sited power generation resources are increasingly impacting...
How much is your land worth? Using solar irradiance data to quantify energy potential
Greentech Media’s recent article “How to Make Money from Land as a Solar Developer,” highlighted critical steps in the development of large solar projects that can make or break profitability. These include sizing the plant, applying for interconnection and a power...
How to reduce solar risk from seasonal variability: Part II
As we discussed in an article last month, it’s no secret that solar power generation can vary from season-to-season based on local weather conditions. So given this variability, how do PV system owners—whether residential, third-party, commercial or utility-scale...
What solar leasing companies need to know to protect their investment—and their bottom line
A critical aspect of the financial health of solar leasing companies or other ‘third-party owners’ (TPOs) is the performance of their ‘fleet’ of installed PV. When a PV system is not operating at peak performance, it's not producing as much power as expected, which...
How to account for seasonal variability in solar power production
Intuitively, we know that solar power generation is dependent on seasonal weather conditions. The January and February PV Power Maps, published in the May/June 2013 issue of Solar Today, illustrate that this year was no exception, with month-to-month variability...
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Lessons from SEPA’s Utility Solar Conference Part 2: Stop worrying about rooftop solar (start focusing on opportunities)
For all the talk of utility death spirals, a single graph from GTM Research’s Shayle Kann, presented at the recent Solar Electric Power Association’s (SEPA) annual Utility Solar Conference (USC), should give U.S. utilities significant comfort that residential solar...
Lessons from SEPA’s Utility Solar Conference Part 1: Get electric rates right to fill the belly of the duck
The Solar Electric Power Association’s (SEPA) annual Utility Solar Conference (USC) is the premier utility solar conference in the United States, and the in-depth discussions between utility and industry leaders can be counted on to portend where solar is heading. At...
UVIG technical achievement award presented to Tom Hoff
Last week, the Utility Variable-Generation Integration Group (UVIG) recognized Tom Hoff, Clean Power Research founder and president of Research and Consulting, with an award for his ongoing contributions to solar forecasting. The ability to forecast the output of tens...
Connecting 150,000 solar customers to PG&E’s electric grid
This week, Pacific Gas & Electric (PG&E) announced a major milestone: connection of 150,000 solar customers to their electric grid. This achievement is the result of PG&E’s long commitment to supporting their customers going solar, and comes with some...
Our top 3 in 2014
In 2014, we covered a wide range of topics on the Clean Power Research blog, from the differences between solar resource datasets, to deep dives into value of solar calculations. The top three posts of the year followed suit, reflecting interest in topics that address...
Solar forecasting goes “EPIC”
Itron and Clean Power Research are embarking on the next phase of research that will lead to high-fidelity distributed solar photovoltaic (PV) forecasts, and integration of those forecasts into net load forecasts for the California Independent System Operator (ISO)....
U.S. solar trends: 2015 edition
As everyone recovers from their New Year’s Eve festivities, shakes off the cobwebs and gets back to work, it’s time for our annual look at trends and predictions for the coming year. Who knows if we’ll be right, but it’s always fun to prognosticate. Here are the three...
Using ground plus satellite solar irradiance data to reduce risk, increase project profitability
If you stopped by the Clean Power Research booth (#118) at the most recent Solar Power International (SPI) Conference in Las Vegas, you would have noticed a tall metal frame supporting some measurement equipment. While this structure could have passed for a new-age...
Reflections on SPI 2014: How today’s U.S. solar industry is the same, different and revolutionary
Clean Power Research had a first-floor booth at Solar Power International (SPI) this year, and it drew great traffic. It didn’t hurt that we had a cool meteorological station in our booth from GroundWork Renewables that also drew a lot of attention, since Clean Power...