US_Solar_TEL_NREL

This layer contains the TEL solar power potential within the contiguous US and Hawaii. This polygon file is intended for small scale thematic mapping.

            

              

                

                  

                    The spatial data were obtained from the National Renewable Energy Laboratory and are current as of 2012. The layer is composed of 10km resolution grid cells, each with a TEL value. The attributes were modified to include gridcode, annual TEL value, and monthly GHI values. The coordinate system of this data is WGS 1984.
                  
                  

                    “TEL, short for Tilt Equals Latitude, is the optimum angle that makes a surface perpendicular to the suns incoming rays. This data provides monthly average and annual average daily total solar resource averaged over surface cells of 0.1 degrees in both latitude and longitude, or about 10 km in size. This data was developed using the State University of New York/Albany satellite radiation model. This model was developed by Dr. Richard Perez and collaborators at the National Renewable Energy Laboratory and other universities for the U.S. Department of Energy. Specific information about this model can be found in Perez, et al. (2002). 
                  
                  

                    This model uses hourly radiance images from geostationary weather satellites, daily snow cover data, and monthly averages of atmospheric water vapor, trace gases, and the amount of aerosols in the atmosphere to calculate the hourly total insolation (sun and sky) falling on a horizontal surface. Atmospheric water vapor, trace gases, and aerosols are derived from a variety of sources. A modified Bird model is used to calculate clear sky direct normal (DNI). This is then adjusted as a function of the ratio of clear sky global horizontal (GHI) and the model predicted GHI. Where possible, existing ground measurement stations are used to validate the data. Nevertheless, there is uncertainty associated with the meteorological input to the model, since some of the input parameters are not available at a 10km resolution. As a result, it is believed that the modeled values are accurate to approximately 15% of a true measured value within the grid cell. Due to terrain effects and other microclimate influences, the local cloud cover can vary significantly even within a single grid cell. Furthermore, the uncertainty of the modeled estimates increase with distance from reliable measurement sources and with the complexity of the terrain.” - NREL
                  
                  

                    TThis layer represents the solar potential within the contiguous US and Hawaii.. This boundary file, current as of 2012, contains 10km resolution grids and was specifically designed for large scale thematic mapping.
                  
                
              
            
          

Center for Geospatial Technology, Texas Tech University
National Renewable Energy Laboratory

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