Solar Radiation Research Lab (SRRL)

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The Solar Radiation Research Laboratory (SRRL) at NREL is a world-leading solar calibration and measurement facility and maintains and disseminates the World Radiation Reference (essentially the W/m^2) for the US that is essential for traceable and accurate measurements of solar radiation at all solar generation facilities. SRRL operates two ISO-17025 calibration facilities that provides unique high-quality calibrations to the NREL and other DOE laboratories. The Baseline Measurement System (BMS) at SRRL provides a high-quality record of solar irradiance and surface meteorological conditions. SRRL capabilities are used to develop (a) improved methods for the calibration of solar radiometers, (b) new standards through International Standards Organization (ISO), International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC) and American Standards for Testing of Materials (ASTM) International, (c) models and (d) advanced instrumentation and methods for operating solar measurement stations. The SRRL datasets are also critical for validation of new models and datasets such as the National Solar Radiation Data Base (NSRDB). Research and development of solar radiation measurement systems and resource modeling techniques are essential for advancing the scientific basis for producing reliable resource data. Specifically, the spatial, temporal, and spectral (wavelength dependency) characteristics of the solar resource are required in several different time frames for various project phases (Figure 1 represented in TWP).