Vaisala Ships First SP-12 Solar Weather Station

The SP-12 Solar Weather Station, available in multiple configurations, measures the full range of environmental parameters that affect solar project performance. The station, mounted on a 2-meter tower and booms, combines industry-leading Kipp & Zonen pyranometers with Vaisala’s next-generation WXT536 multi-weather sensor, capable of measuring wind speed and direction, ambient temperature, humidity, pressure and rainfall. An integrated thermistor assesses panel temperature for determining thermal losses.

These measurements are collected and relayed by Vaisala’s Nomad 3 Data Logger, a rugged and reliable device that provides real-time remote access to site data by means of Vaisala’s SkyServe web platform, FTP and SCADA integration.

For prospective and operational solar sites, adding reliable ground-based measurements to the long-term records provided by sophisticated weather models is essential for making bankable production estimates and operational decisions that impact project revenue. Vaisala provides a unique perspective to the market with its ability to provide both ground measurements and modeled data analysis.

“The key to achieving the ‘gold standard’ of bankable resource data lies in combining the long-term variability record provided by satellite models with the micro-climate context of the project site,” said Gwendalyn Bender, Head of Solar Product Development at Vaisala. “In practice, this means investing equally in both modeling ‘software’ and measurement ‘hardware’ – and that’s what Vaisala has done with the launch of SP-12.”

The SP-12 Solar Weather Station has already been deployed at multiple locations across the U.S. and Canada, completing Vaisala’s platform of end-to-end solar project development, asset and portfolio management services.

“Vaisala offers a cost-competitive package for both the weather stations and tuning of satellite-derived irradiance data,” said Jeffrey Webber, Development Engineer at Cypress Creek Renewables, a U.S project developer and operator and an early adopter of the SP-12 Solar Weather Station.