Solargis To Power Data Analysis Of Renewable projects for Apex in US By Prasanna Singh/ Updated On Fri, May 20th, 2022 Highlights : In areas which are not blessed with high irradiance, using the right data to plan solar plants better makes a major difference. Bifacial modules are preferred in the US now due to their higher productivity, which makes data on albedo effect even more important. Solargis, a leading solar data and software services firm, has provided its high-resolution, granular resource and meteorological data to leading U.S. independent power producer Apex Clean Energy (Apex). The data has been deployed to optimize over 120 of Apex’s solar projects during design, development, and operations – while enabling projects to better integrate advanced technologies such as bifacial and storage. The U.S. solar market is rapidly approaching a turning point as high oil prices drive energy security further up the agenda. Meanwhile, the sector is navigating fresh uncertainty around hardware tariffs and significant global supply chain volatility. Yet moves by developers and operators to better understand the abundant solar resource across the U.S. offer a way forward for the sector, maximizing the impact of new solar technologies to accelerate the shift away from fossil fuel dependence. According to the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), bifacial modules – which generate electricity on both sides of the panel – could already comprise up to 50% of installed U.S. capacity. However, there have been question marks around the industry’s capability to utilize innovative module designs effectively. To support Apex’s bifacial projects, Solargis has provided extensively validated albedo data, which measures surface reflectivity, unlocking optimal designs and more efficient operations. Solar resource variability in key global markets increases scrutiny on solar asset performance: Study Also Read Storage is another strong area of growth for the solar sector, holding the key to a wider roll out of photovoltaic technology. A drive to unlock the full benefits of solar plus storage projects has driven growing demand for accurate sub-hourly time series data. Through their partnership, Solargis has provided Apex Clean Energy with accurate one- and five-minute data to support seamless battery operations and better grid integration. George Szabo, Director of Solar Design, Apex Clean Energy, said: “As the technological complexity of solar assets increases, high quality resource data becomes more essential every day. Apex strives to create tangible value for every project, and Solargis – with the lowest GHI model uncertainty and interannual variability when paired with our ground-monitoring stations – has enabled our team to do so.” Giridaran Srinivasan, Solargis’ CEO for the Americas, said: “Rising transparency around crucial project decisions means U.S. renewable investors are scrutinizing financial projections rigorously. We have been consistently impressed by Apex Clean Energy’s robust data use of high-quality data and commitment to accuracy over the two years we’ve worked together, and we look forward to supporting the wider U.S. solar sector as it takes a leap forward and adopts a best practice approach to solar resource data.” As Solar Grows, Solar Data Demand Scales New Highs Also Read Tags: albedo analysis for bifacial modules, data analysis, george szabo, giridaran srinivasan, solar productivity, solar reflexivity, solargis