Seattle-based 3TIER has completed its REmapping the World initiative, which was launched in March 2008 to address the lack of reliable information regarding resource potential and availability.
With the release of a global solar map and data set, the company says it has completed its goal of identifying and mapping the world's wind and solar resources using a globally consistent methodology. The global solar map and data set are based on 10 to 13 years of half-hourly, high-resolution visible satellite imagery collected from nine different satellites, dispersed across the globe and covering the entire surface of the earth.
Satellite imagery was processed using a uniform methodology based upon a combination of in-house and peer-reviewed research documents supported by the global atmospheric science community.
At a resolution 3 to 30 times higher than any other publicly available data source, 3TIER's global solar map and data set leverage several in-house improvements to provide global coverage between 50 degrees S and 60 degrees N; spatial resolution of two arc minutes (approximately 3 km); and hourly values of global horizontal irradiance, direct normal irradiance and diffuse horizontal irradiance extending back 10 to 13 years, 3TIER adds.
SOURCE: 3TIER