DNV today (June 20) announced the expansion of its Solar Resource Compass (SRC) online software platform to include support for Europe, with additional regions to follow throughout 2024. Solar Resource Compass is a powerful software service that provides users with access to DNV's high-quality solar resource data and energy yield predictions, online and on-demand.
Solar Resource Compass is powered by two other DNV products: SolarFarmer and Solcast. SolarFarmer is DNV's flagship energy modeling platform for utility-scale solar photovoltaic projects, providing bankable and reliable energy yield predictions, based on comprehensive validations performed over the last five years. Solcast is DNV's weather data service, which provides high-resolution and high-accuracy historical and forecasted weather data for any location in the world, utilizing satellite imagery and sophisticated machine learning algorithms.
By combining SolarFarmer and Solcast, Solar Resource Compass provides users with a unique and powerful online service that can deliver indicative energy production estimates for any solar project, including the comparison of multiple irradiance datasets and the calculation of site-specific losses for dust and snow.
DNV's Energy Transition Outlook report forecasts that from 2025 onwards, almost all net new capacity added is non-fossil. Wind and solar are set to grow ten-fold and seventeen-fold, respectively, between 2022 and 2050. However, one of the key challenges facing the solar industry is the unprecedented scale required to deliver a decarbonized energy grid. DNV is committed to enabling our customers to scale, so that together we can accelerate the energy transition and deliver a greener grid.
DNV's digital solar products are key enabling technologies that deliver on this commitment. DNV customers have evaluated more than 10,000 projects in Solar Resource Compass in the last two years in the United States alone. Solar Resource Compass' APIs have also empowered customers to introduce automation to their internal workflows, allowing them to scale their businesses without scaling their teams.
Josh Tatel, Director of Technical Asset Operations at Generate Capital describes the impact SRC has had for their team, "Solar Resource Compass has become an invaluable resource in our workflow. SRC enables our team to perform technical due diligence on 3-5 times more solar energy assets than we could otherwise." Beyond the increased transaction velocity that SRC facilitates, SRC also helps developers and investors navigate differences in models or assumptions. Mr. Tatel adds, "as a neutral third-party assessment, SRC helps flag any gaps in assumptions much earlier in our diligence process, avoiding surprises or material changes at closing."
Lucy Craig, Director, Growth, Innovation & Digitalization, Energy Systems at DNV said "Solar Resource Compass is a game-changer for the solar industry, as it provides unprecedented access to DNV's solar data and analytics, which are trusted by investors, developers, and operators around the world. By expanding Solar Resource Compass to Europe, we are making our solar solutions more accessible to our customers and partners in this key market, where solar plays a vital role in the energy transition.
"The tool is also a testament to DNV's innovation in the sector, as it showcases how we leverage our SolarFarmer and Solcast products to create new value-adding services for our customers. These products are the result of years of research and development, and reflect our commitment to providing the best-in-class solar solutions that are based on the latest technology, data, and standards,"
DNV's Solar Resource Compass online software tools are set to transform the solar industry by providing unprecedented access to solar data and analytics. With its expansion to Europe, DNV is further solidifying its position as a trusted partner in the global energy transition.
Solar Resource Compass is available for free for a limited time for users who register at https://src.dnv.com. Users can also upgrade to a premium subscription, which offers additional features and benefits, such as unlimited simulations, API access, and technical support.
