Global Horizontal Irradiance
This dataset, part of the National Solar Radiation Database version 3, provides gridded global horizontal irradiance (GHI) values for the United States. Derived from satellite observations and ground station data, the shapefile includes annual average GHI estimates for each grid cell at a spatial resolution of roughly 4 km. The dataset supports solar resource assessment, site screening, and modeling for photovoltaic and concentrating solar power projects. Users can integrate the GHI layers into GIS applications or models like PVWatts and SAM to evaluate solar potential across different locations. Data can be downloaded from NREL's GIS library.
Citation Formats
TY - DATA
AB - This dataset, part of the National Solar Radiation Database version 3, provides gridded global horizontal irradiance (GHI) values for the United States. Derived from satellite observations and ground station data, the shapefile includes annual average GHI estimates for each grid cell at a spatial resolution of roughly 4 km. The dataset supports solar resource assessment, site screening, and modeling for photovoltaic and concentrating solar power projects. Users can integrate the GHI layers into GIS applications or models like PVWatts and SAM to evaluate solar potential across different locations. Data can be downloaded from NREL's GIS library.
AU - NLR
DB - C-MIX - Community Microgrid Information Exchange
DP - Open EI | National Laboratory of the Rockies
DO -
KW - Solar
KW - Photovoltaics
KW - PV
KW - Battery energy storage
KW - Diesel generators
KW - Other liquid-fuel generators
KW - Wind energy
KW - Case studies
KW - Performance
KW - Planning and design
KW - Planning
KW - Design
KW - Maintenance and operations
KW - Operations
KW - Maintenance
KW - Commissioning
LA - English
DA - 2018/02/22
PY - 2018
PB - NLR
T1 - Global Horizontal Irradiance
UR - https://cmix.openei.org/submissions/329
ER -
NLR. Global Horizontal Irradiance. NLR, 22 February, 2018, C-MIX - Community Microgrid Information Exchange. https://cmix.openei.org/submissions/329.
NLR. (2018). Global Horizontal Irradiance. [Data set]. C-MIX - Community Microgrid Information Exchange. NLR. https://cmix.openei.org/submissions/329
NLR. Global Horizontal Irradiance. NLR, February, 22, 2018. Distributed by C-MIX - Community Microgrid Information Exchange. https://cmix.openei.org/submissions/329
@misc{CMIX_Dataset_329,
title = {Global Horizontal Irradiance},
author = {NLR},
abstractNote = {This dataset, part of the National Solar Radiation Database version 3, provides gridded global horizontal irradiance (GHI) values for the United States. Derived from satellite observations and ground station data, the shapefile includes annual average GHI estimates for each grid cell at a spatial resolution of roughly 4 km. The dataset supports solar resource assessment, site screening, and modeling for photovoltaic and concentrating solar power projects. Users can integrate the GHI layers into GIS applications or models like PVWatts and SAM to evaluate solar potential across different locations. Data can be downloaded from NREL's GIS library.},
url = {https://cmix.openei.org/submissions/329},
year = {2018},
howpublished = {C-MIX - Community Microgrid Information Exchange, NLR, https://cmix.openei.org/submissions/329},
note = {Accessed: 2026-08-07}
}
Details
Data from Feb 22, 2018
Last updated Mar 30, 2026
Submitted Jun 2, 2026
Organization
NLR
Contact
C-MIX Team
Authors
