Overview
IEC TS 62862-1-2:2017 provides a standardized methodology for creating an Annual Solar Radiation (ASR) data set for use in solar thermal electric (STE) plant simulation. The Technical Specification defines the elements, components and procedures needed to construct an ASR - a functional equivalent of a Typical Meteorological Year (TMY) - that represents a single year with solar radiation and related meteorological variables close to the long‑term normal for a project location.
Key topics and requirements
- Scope and purpose: ASR generation for STE plant engineering and annual production simulation (not intended for extreme-event analysis).
- Elements of an ASR: geographic and time identification (location, time reference, time frequency), required variables (mandatory solar radiation measures and associated meteorological parameters), and data format.
- Procedures for ASR generation:
- Measurement campaign guidance, including station setup, recommended variables and metadata.
- Quality control methods and routines (checking physically possible values, detecting outliers, coherence between radiation variables).
- Validation and gap filling to handle missing or inconsistent records.
- Study of representative long‑term value using one or multiple data sources to establish normal annual solar radiation.
- Generation of representative series (procedures based on measurements or estimates) to assemble a year (commonly 8,760 hourly records) representative of long‑term conditions.
- Reporting requirements: documentation of methods, data sources, quality checks and assumptions.
- Informative annexes: measurement station recommendations, station equivalence, and detailed quality‑control procedures.
- References include related resource methodologies (e.g., historical TMY development) and standards such as ISO 9488 for radiation terminology.
Applications and who uses it
- STE plant designers and simulation engineers use ASR data sets to model annual electricity output, thermal storage performance and plant controls.
- Resource assessment consultants and project developers rely on standardized ASR datasets for bankable energy yield estimates and feasibility studies.
- Researchers and policy makers use ASR-based simulations for techno‑economic studies and grid integration analysis.
- Software vendors for solar simulation tools implement ASR formats and quality procedures to ensure consistent inputs.
Related standards
- Part of the IEC 62862 series on Solar Thermal Electric Plants.
- Cross‑references terminology in ISO 9488 (solar radiation, irradiance/irradiation).
Keywords: IEC TS 62862-1-2:2017, annual solar radiation data set, ASR, STE plant simulation, typical meteorological year, solar resource, measurement campaign, quality control, data gap filling.