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Xcel Energy Comanche Station (RSR)

Xcel Energy Comanche Station (RSR)

Latitude: 38.2098o North
Longitude: 104.5724o West
Elevation: 1490 AMSL
Time Zone: MST

Data sets currently available on XECS web site Additional information or data

*** Notice: During winter months, data from this station may be affected by shading from nearby stacks or steam plumes. Users should understand these effects if trying to use the data for general solar resource assessment. ***

Pictures of instrumentation and tower at XECS site.

A rotating shadowband radiometer (RSR) offers a lower cost option of measuring solar radiation resources for renewable energy applications. The RSR uses a silicon-based photodiode pyranometer to measure the global and diffuse solar irradiance. The control and data acquisition system then computes the corresponding direct normal solar irradiance based on the geographic location of the RSR and the time of the data collection events.

By design, the RSRs offer the potential advantages of lower maintenance and calibration costs because they use a single pyranometer with a diffuser for determining the direct, diffuse, and global solar irradiance rather than up to three radiometers with larger optical surfaces, more complex support equipment, or more maintenance-intensive support equipment. Their potential disadvantage is the higher estimated measurement uncertainty because of factors such as the restricted spectral response of the silicon-based detector used in the RSR. Postprocessing software to account for the limited spectral response of the silicon detector has been developed and applied the RSR data. This solar-powered system is simple to operate and provides basic resource information.

For more information about the RSR visit Irradiance, Inc.

June 21, 2007 Xcel Energy News Release regarding the RSR installation by NREL (20 KB PDF Document).

http://dx.doi.org/10.5439/1052551

For more information about this website or the data contact: Afshin Andreas