Wind and Solar Power

Wind Power

This parameter gives the wind power in kW and MW for more than 800 turbine models of several manufacturers with hub heights ranging from 10 m to 20 000 m.

wind_power_turbine_<turbine_id>_hub_height_<height>:<unit>

Available turbines: Turbine List (please contact us if the turbine you need is missing)

Available heights: continuous from 10m to 20000m

Available units: MW, kW

Examples

Solar Power

Solar power in kW and MW for different tracking types, panel orientations (tilts), and efficiencies. Additionally, topographic shading is taken into account by using a digital terrain model.

solar_power<specifications>:<unit>

Available units: kW, MW

Available specifications:

Capacity

The installed capacity in MW, defaults to 1 MW. Specified as:

installed_capacity_<capacity>

Tracking types

  • Fixed: the panel is fixed on both axes, so orientation and tilt can be specified in the query.
    tracking_type_fixed
  • Azimuth tracking: the tilt is fixed and can be specified in the query while the panel orientation is variable (the orientation follows the position of the sun).
    tracking_type_azimuth-tracking
  • Tilted north-south tracking (also known as polar aligned single axis tracking): the panel tilt is determined by the latitude, the panel rotates around the axis with constant angular velocity.
    tracking_type_tilted-north-south-tracking
  • Full tracking: tilt and orientation are variable, the panel is always facing the sun.
    tracking_type_full-tracking

Panel tilt

The panel tilt is given in degrees, a panel tilt of 0˚ means that the panel is facing straight up, a panel tilt of 90˚ means the panel is facing the horizon.
Defaults to 25˚. Specified as:

tilt_<tilt>
panel tilt

Panel orientation

The panel orientation is given in degrees, where 0˚ means the panel is facing north, 90˚ means east, 180˚ south, 270˚ west.
Defaults to 180˚. Specified as:

orientation_<orientation>
panel orientation

Critical snow depth

If the snow depth is bigger than this value (in cm), the production is started to be damped with a ~1/R relationship, where R is the radiation (see image). The production is lowered by the amount of radiation that can not penetrate the snow cover.

A value of 0 means that the panel will always be assumed to be free of snow. Defaults to 1.5. Specified as:

critical_snowdepth_<value>

Examples