Resource Assessment

This Task will address ways to improve our understanding of solar resources.

The goal of IEA/SHC Task36 "Solar Resource Knowledge Management" is to provide the solar energy industry, the electricity sector, governments, and renewable energy organizations and institutions with the most suitable and accurate information of the solar radiation resources at the Earth's surface in easily-accessible formats.

Radiation data are needed for solar resource assessment, design and evaluation of solar systems and buildings, and solar collector testing.

Task 9 researchers evaluated a large number of techniques for estimating solar radiation for locations between network sites or where the existing measurements are not adequate.

The purpose of this second meteorological support task was to improve access to solar radiation data, facilitate the estimation of key solar radiation parameters by solar engineers and designers, and to develop a uniform format for the presentation of data.

As the first of the meteorological support projects, Task 4 focused on producing two practical aids for solar system designers, low-cost portable instrumentation and a handbook.