Solar resource data available for Canada
The solar resource data currently available for Canada has been summarized in the table below. Historical averages and other statistics are available, as well as time series data starting as early as 1953 and extending up to near real-time. Some data is publicly available for free, while other data must be purchased (as indicated by “$” in the summary).
| Dataset | Source | Time Coverage | Radiation components | Time resolution | Spatial resolution |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| CWEEDS (free) http://climate.weather.gc.ca/prods_servs/ engineering_e.html |
Ground stations (Environment Canada) | 1998-2016 (station-dependent) |
GHI, DNI, DHI | Hourly | 564 stations |
| CWEC (free) http://climate.weather.gc.ca/prods_servs/ engineering_e.html |
Ground stations (Environment Canada) | TMY | GHI, DNI, DHI | Hourly TMY | 564 stations |
| CERES (free) ftp://climate_services:msc_services@ ftp.tor.ec.gc.ca/Climate_Services/ |
Ground stations (Environment Canada) | 1974-1993 statistics | GHI, DNI, DHI, GTI | Monthly statistics | 144 stations |
| PV Maps (free) | Ground stations (Environment Canada) | 1974-1993 means | GHI, GTI | Monthly means | 60 arc seconds, ~2 km |
| SUNY (free) ftp://ftp.nrcan.gc.ca/energy/SOLAR/ |
Satellite (GOES) | 2002-2008 | GHI, DNI | Hourly | 1/10° (~8 by 11 km at 45°N) |
| NASA POWER (free) https://power.larc.nasa.gov/ |
Satellite | 1983-now | GHI, DNI, DHI, GTI | Daily | 1° (~80 by 110 km at 45°N) |
| Green Power Labs ($) http://www.greenpowerlabs.com/ solarfortheworld.php |
Satellite (GOES) | 2007-now | GHI, DNI, DHI | 30 minutes | 1 km |
| Turquoise Technology Solutions ($) http://sunmetrix.com/ |
Satellite (GOES) | 2006-now | GHI, DNI, DHI | 1 hour | 1/30° (~3 km) |
| Clean Power Research ($) http://www.cleanpower.com/ |
Satellite (GOES) | 1998-now | GHI, DNI, DHI | 1 minute | 0.01° (~1 km) |
| SolarGIS ($) http://solargis.info/ |
Satellite (GOES-EAST) | 1999-now | GHI, DNI, DHI, GTI | 1 minute | 250 m |
| 3TIER ($) http://www.3tier.com/en/ |
Satellite (GOES) | 1997-now | GHI, DNI, DHI | 1 hour | 1/30° (~3 km) |
| METEONORM ($) http://meteonorm.com/ |
Ground stations (GEBA) & satellite | 1981-1990; 1986-2005 statistics & TMY | GHI, DNI, DHI, GTI | 1 minute TMY | Any location |
| High-Resolution Solar Radiation Datasets | Ground stations (NRCan) | Selected days in 2014 and 2015 | GHI, GTI | 10 milliseconds to 1 minute | 41 stations across two sites |
List of acronyms
GHI: Global horizontal irradiance
DNI: Direct normal irradiance
DHI: Diffuse horizontal irradiance
GTI: Global tilted irradiance (in an inclined plane)
TMY: Typical meteorological year
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