Response dataset type

DataDelivery Web Service

https://solargis.info/ws/rest/datadelivery/request

timeseries

YES

YES

YES

YES

NO

synchronous

XML

XML

stateless

Long-term Averages Web Service (LTA API) https://solargis.info/ws/rest/pvplanner/calculate

long-term averages, 12 monthly +1 yearly value

NO

NO

NO

NO

YES

synchronous

XML

XML

stateless

historical

satellite model

• Start: the beginning of the archive

• End: the last completed calendar month (MONTH-1)

Data for any location enters this stage upon completion of the calendar month. The reanalysis of the previous month takes effect on the 3rd day of each calendar month. Historical data can be regarded as final or of archive quality. The oldest solar data stored by Solargis dates back to 1994.

operational

satellite model

• Start: the beginning of the current calendar month

• End: the last completed calendar day (DAY-1)

Operational stage of the solar data is created as soon as the calendar day is completed at the location.

real-time

satellite model

• Start: the beginning of the current calendar day (DAY+0)

• End: the current time

The real-time data stage is actually ending shortly before the current time due to processing delays of the satellite model.

nowcasting

satellite model

• Start: the current time

• End: 4 hours after the current time

The beginning of this stage at the current time is approximate. The nowcasting data is generated from the series of satellite scenes. Solargis predicts solar data parameters by utilizing CMVs (Cloud Motion Vectors). After approximately 3-4 hours, the satellite nowcasting model output begins to blend with the numerical weather prediction data.

numerical weather prediction (NWP)

post-processed outputs of NWP models

• Start: 4 hours after the current time

• End: DAY+14 (15 days in a row including the current day)

The NWP based solar data is asembled from multiple NWP data sources: IFS forecast model (ECMWF), ICON forecast model (DWD), GFS forecast model (NOAA), HRRR model (NOAA). Find more information about the forecasting here.

GOES WEST

1999-01-01

2019+: GOES-S, 10-minute time step

2018 - 1999:  GOES-W, 30-minute time step

09:00 UTC

Satellite data availability delay is 2-12 minutes and it increases from south to north. Processing frequency is every 10 minutes and it takes another 5-15 minutes.

GOES EAST

1999-01-01

2019+: GOES-R, 10-minute time step

2018+: GOES-R, 15-minute time step

2017 - 1999:  GOES-E, 30-minute time step

05:00 UTC

same as the GOES WEST region

GOES EAST PATAGONIA

2018-01-01

2019+: GOES-R, 10-minute time step

2018+: GOES-R, 15-minute time step

05:00 UTC

same as the GOES WEST region

METEOSAT PRIME SCANDINAVIA between 60°and 65° latitude

2005-01-01

2005+: MSG 15-minute time step

00:30 UTC

not yet

METEOSAT PRIME

1994-01-01

2005+: MSG 15-minute time step

2004 - 1994:  MFG, 30-minute time step

00:30 UTC

Satellite data availability delay is 2-16 minutes and it increases from north to south. Processing frequency is every 15 minutes and it takes another 5-15 minutes.

METEOSAT IODC

1999-01-01

2017+: MSG 15-minute time step

2016 - 1999:  MFG, 30-minute time step

19:00 UTC 

same as the METEOSAT PRIME region

IODC-HIMAWARI

1999-01-01

2017+: HIMAWARI 10-minute time step

2016 - 1999:  MFG, 30-minute time step

16:00 UTC

same as the HIMAWARI region

HIMAWARI

2006-07-01

2016+: HIMAWARI 10-minute time step

2015 - 2006:  MTSAT, 30-minute time step

16:00 UTC

Satellite data availability delay is 5-15 minutes and it increases from south to north. Processing frequency is every 10 minutes and it takes another 5-15 minutes.

ERA5 reanalysis of the global climate (ECMWF)

• Start: the beginning of the archive

• End: DAY-11

The TEMP data parameter is extracted from the ERA5-Land reanalysis dataset (ECMWF). Important note: ECMWF provider can have delays which can affect the availability of the ERA5-Land dataset.

IFS forecast model (ECMWF)

• Start: DAY-10

• End: DAY+3

GFS forecast model (NOAA)

• Start: DAY+4

• End: DAY+14

dataDeliveryRequest

http://solargis.info/schema/ws-data.xsd

The root element of the XML request is the <dataDeliveryRequest> with required attributes 'dateFrom' and 'dateTo' for setting desired data period in the response. Accepted is a date string in the form of  ''YYYY-mm-dd" e.g., "2017-09-30". It is assumed UTC (GMT+00) time zone for both dates unless otherwise specified by the <timeZone> element of the <processing>.

required one <site> , required one <processing>

start of the data period, ''YYYY-mm-dd"

end of the data period, ''YYYY-mm-dd"

processing

http://solargis.info/schema/data-request.xsd

Complex element with instructions about how response should be generated.

optional one <timeZone>, optional one <timestampType>

required, time frequency in the response. One of MONTHLY, DAILY, HOURLY, MIN_30, MIN_15, MIN_10, MIN_5

required, text value, output data parameters separated by white space. Example: key="GHI GTI TEMP WS PVOUT". See below table for all supported parameters.

optional, boolean, if 'true', the distant horizon taken from SRTM data is considered, default is 'false' (no horizon obstructions at all), Note: a user can also apply custom horizon data by providing <horizon> element within the <site> element

GHI

Global Horizontal Irradiation [kWh/m2, Wh/m2, W/m2]. Regarding units see below note.

Basic

GHI_C

Clear-sky Global Horizontal Irradiation [kWh/m2, Wh/m2, W/m2]

Professional

GHI_UNC_HIGH

GHI high estimate (10 % probability of exceedance) [kWh/m2, Wh/m2, W/m2]

Professional

GHI_UNC_LOW

GHI low estimate (90 % probability of exceedance) [kWh/m2, Wh/m2, W/m2]

Professional

DNI

Direct Normal Irradiation [kWh/m2, Wh/m2, W/m2]

Basic

DNI_C

Clear-sky Direct Normal Irradiation [kWh/m2, Wh/m2, W/m2]

Professional

DIF

Diffuse Horizontal Irradiation [kWh/m2, Wh/m2, W/m2]

Basic

GTI

Global Tilted Irradiation [kWh/m2, Wh/m2, W/m2]

Basic

GTI_UNC_HIGH

GTI high estimate (10 % probability of exceedance) [kWh/m2, Wh/m2, W/m2]

Professional

GTI_UNC_LOW

GTI low estimate (90 % probability of exceedance) [kWh/m2, Wh/m2, W/m2]

Professional

GTI_C

Global tilted clear-sky irradiance [W/m2]

Professional

CI_FLAG

Cloud identification quality flag [categories], this parameter is represented as 'flagR' in the response

Basic

FLAG_R

deprecated alias for CI_FLAG

KTM

Deprecated alias of KC. Can be discontinued in future versions.

Professional

KC

Clear-sky index [unitless]

Professional

KT

clearness index, values range (0, 1.1), during the night -9

Professional

PAR

Photo-synthetically Active Irradiation [kWh/m2, Wh/m2, W/m2]

Professional

SE

Sun Altitude (Elevation) Angle [deg.]

Basic

SA

Sun Azimuth Angle [deg.]

Basic

TEMP

Air Temperature at 2m [deg. C]

Basic

TD

Dew Point Temperature [deg. C]

Professional

WBT

Wet Bulb Temperature [deg. C]

Professional

AP

Atmospheric Pressure [hPa]

Professional

RH

Relative Humidity [%]

Professional

WS

Wind Speed [m/s]

Basic

WD

Wind Direction [deg.]

Basic

PREC

Precipitation Rate [kg/m2]

Professional

PWAT

Precipitable Water [kg/m2]

Professional

PVOUT

Photovoltaic Output [kW, kWh]. Regarding units see below note.

Basic

PVOUT_UNC_HIGH

PVOUT high estimate (10 % probability of exceedance) [kW, kWh]

Professional

PVOUT_UNC_LOW

PVOUT low estimate (90 % probability of exceedance) [kW, kWh]

Professional

SDWE

Water equivalent of accumulated snow depth [kg/m2]

Professional

SWE

Deprecated alias of SDWE. Can be discontinued in future versions. SDWE will be returned in a response.

Professional

TMOD

Module temperature [deg. C]. This parameter needs a PV system defined in the request, at least in a mimimal setup like:
<pv:system installedPower="1"><pv:module type="CSI"/><pv:inverter/><pv:losses/></pv:system>

Professional

WG

Wind Gust [m/s]

Professional

WS100

Wind speed at 100 m [m/s]

Professional

WD100

Wind direction at 100 m [deg.]

Professional

SFWE

Water equivalent of fresh snowfall rate [kg/m2/hour] - source ERA5 , the latest data available is approx. one month backward (no data for very recent or forecast period)

Professional

INC

Incidence angle of direct irradiance [deg.], this parameter needs GTI or PVOUT in the request

Professional

TILT

Tilt of inclined surface [deg.], this parameter needs GTI or PVOUT in the request

Basic

ASPECT

Aspect of inclined surface [deg.], this parameter needs GTI or PVOUT in the request

Basic

timeZone

http://solargis.info/schema/data-request.xsd

The element controls the time zone in the response (how all timestamps should be shifted from the UTC). Hourly and half-hourly precision is supported.

required, string value in the pattern "GMT[+-][ zero-padded hours ][:30]", default value is GMT+00 (UTC), Examples: GMT-04, GMT+05:30, GMT-02:30

Full request example for the GHI parameter in the India Standard Time (IST) zone:

timestampType

http://solargis.info/schema/data-request.xsd

Simple element provides how aggregated time intervals in the response should be labeled.

Valid for [sub]hourly summarization. Intervals can be time-stamped at the center (default) or at start or at end. In other words, users can choose the left (START) or the right (END) edge of the time interval for its label (besides the center).

required, one of START, CENTER, END

site

http://solargis.info/schema/data-request.xsd

Complex element representing site location, optionally with a PV technology installed

optional one <geometry>, optional one <system>, optional one <terrain>, optional one <horizon>

required, site identification, cannot start with number, cannot have white space. It is recommended to use different site id for unique combinations of latitude and longitude. Referring to the specific site id facilitates the troubleshooting of issues in the API. Do not reuse the same site id for multiple locations.

required, site latitude in decimal degrees e.g, 48.61259

required, site longitude in decimal degrees e.g, 20.827079

optional, more descriptive name of the site (e.g., address), default is empty string

terrain

http://solargis.info/schema/common-geo.xsd

Ground terrain characterized by elevation, terrain slope and terrain azimuth. Terrain properties affect the self shading of a fixed angle PV array (note, that 'tilt' and 'row spacing' attributes of PV modules on the pictures below are identical - what is changing is the terrain slope and how it affects the self shading).

Open

Open

Open

none

optional, meters above the mean see level. If missing, the value will be taken from SRTM terrain database

optional, orientation of tilted terrain in degrees, 0 for North, 180 for South, clockwise, default is 180, has no effect for the flat terrain (tilt=0)

optional, slope tilt of the terrain in degrees, 0 for flat ground, 90 for vertical surface, default is 0 (flat)

horizon

http://solargis.info/schema/common-geo.xsd

User can provide custom skyline for expressing distant or close obstruction features (hills, trees, buildings, poles, etc.)

String of this form: space-delimited list of float number pairs [azimuth in degrees:0-360]:[horizon height in degrees:0-90], Example: "<geo:horizon>0:3.6 123:5.6 359:6</geo:horizon>"

geometry

http://solargis.info/schema/common-pv.xsd

Parametrization of PV system mounting type used for calculating GTI and PVOUT. If this element is missing and GTI/PVOUT is requested, flat-lying PV panels are considered (GTI=GHI). Examples:

<pv:geometry xsi:type="pv:GeometryFixedOneAngle" azimuth="180" tilt="25"/>

<pv:geometry xsi:type="pv:GeometryOneAxisHorizontalNS" rotationLimitEast="-90" rotationLimitWest="90" backTracking="true" azimuth="180"/>

<pv:geometry xsi:type="pv:GeometryOneAxisInclinedNS" axisTilt="30" rotationLimitEast="-90" rotationLimitWest="90" backTracking="true" azimuth="180"/>

<pv:geometry xsi:type="pv:GeometryOneAxisVertical" tilt="25" rotationLimitEast="-180" rotationLimitWest="180" backTracking="true"/>

<pv:geometry xsi:type="pv:GeometryTwoAxisAstronomical" rotationLimitEast="-180" rotationLimitWest="180" tiltLimitMin="10" tiltLimitMax="60" backTracking="true"/>

none

required, type of the mounting geometry. Use one from GeometryFixedOneAngle, GeometryOneAxisHorizontalNS, GeometryOneAxisInclinedNS, GeometryOneAxisVertical, GeometryTwoAxisAstronomical, see table below for pictures.

the value in degrees of a true geographical azimuth (0: north, 90: east, 180: south, 270: west, 360: north --> a compass value) . In the case of 'GeometryFixedOneAngle' the azimuth attribute is required.

In the case of two tracker types (GeometryOneAxisHorizontalNS, GeometryOneAxisInclinedNS) the value is the compass value at which the southern end of the tracker axis is oriented. Regardless of the Earth's hemisphere. With trackers, the value is limited to the range from 135 deg. to 225 deg. inclusive, so the deviation from the north-south line is not bigger than 45 degrees. With trackers, the attribute is optional and it defaults to 180 deg. (which means the southern end of the axis faces to geographical south, so the tracker field is aligned with the north-south line which is the optimal solution for most cases).

tilt of panel surface in degrees range (0, 90), 0=horizontal, 90=vertical surface, required for 'GeometryFixedOneAngle' and 'GeometryOneAxisVertical' types

optional, default is 30 deg., allowed range is (0, 90). Tilt of rotating inclined axis in degrees, 0 = horizontal, 90 = vertical axis, only applicable for 'GeometryOneAxisInclinedNS',

WARNING: if this attribute is missing, the value defaults to 30 degree.

optional, for trackers only

default values / allowed ranges:

• default is -180 deg, allowed range: -180, 180. Applies for vertical axis of GeometryTwoAxisAstronomical and GeometryOneAxisVertical trackers.  Rotation limits are in this case defined relative to 0 deg. (initial tracker position regardless of the hemisphere), default range from -180 to 180 deg (e.g., -90 deg. for east and +90 deg. for west)

• default is -90, allowed range: -90, 90, Applies for the GeometryOneAxisHorizontalNS and GeometryOneAxisInclinedNS. Rotation limits are in this case defined as tilt of tracker table relative to its central position, both limits are typically symmetric e.g., rotationLimitEast=-50, rotationLimitWest=50

The general rule is: negative values are used for the east side, positive for the west side, the same rule applies for both Earth hemispheres).

The value of rotationLimitEast must be smaller or equal than the rotationLimitWest.

optional, for trackers only

default values / allowed ranges:

• default is 180 deg, allowed range: -180, 180. Applies for vertical axis of GeometryTwoAxisAstronomical and GeometryOneAxisVertical trackers.  Rotation limits are in this case defined relative to 0 deg. (initial tracker position regardless of the hemisphere), default range from -180 to 180 deg (e.g., -90 deg. for east and +90 deg. for west)

• default is 90, allowed range: -90, 90, Applies for the GeometryOneAxisHorizontalNS and GeometryOneAxisInclinedNS. Rotation limits are in this case defined as tilt of tracker table relative to its central position, both limits are typically symmetric e.g., rotationLimitEast=-50, rotationLimitWest=50

The general rule is: negative values are used for the east side, positive for the west side, the same rule applies for both Earth hemispheres).

The value of rotationLimitEast must be smaller or equal than the rotationLimitWest.