Provide a unique outdoor research facility for supporting renewable energy conversion
technologies and climate change studies for the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE).
Objectives
Provide Improved Methods for Radiometer Calibrations
Develop a Solar Resource Climate Database for Golden, Colorado
Characterize New Instruments for Measuring Renewable Energy Resources
Offer Unique Training Methods for Solar Monitoring Network Design, Operation, and Maintenance.
Approach
Provide a site with excellent solar access on the South Table Mountain.
Collocate a Metrology Laboratory for the calibration of all measurement and test
equipment needed for NREL research.
Conduct radiometer calibrations and characterizations traceable to international
standards.
Collect continuous research-quality measurements of solar radiation and other surface
meteorological parameters.
Provide NREL research programs with optimum instrument mounting platforms,
automatic data acquisition systems, and research operation and maintenance
procedures.
Support the DOE Atmospheric Radiation Measurement (ARM) Program needs for
radiometry applied to climate change research.
Current Activities
Maintaining Metrology Lab procedures and calibration equipment traceable to national
and international standards for electrical, pressure, and temperature measurements.
Developing a new Optics Lab for making spectral irradiance measurements using
standard lamps and spectroradiometers.
Continuing operation of the Baseline Measurement System of 68
instruments to record surface meteorological conditions and make all data collected
since 1985 available on the Internet.
Performing annual comparisons of Absolute Cavity Radiometers Intercomparisons
for transferring the World Radiometric Reference to international, national, and regional
researchers. Reports and Pictures from the NREL Pyrheliometer Comparisons (NPC) are available:
NPC-1999 (4-10 October 1999): Pictures and Report (1.1 MB PDF Document)
NPC-2001 (24-28 September 2001): Pictures and Report (15.0 MB PDF Document)
NPC-2002 (23-27 September 2002): Pictures and Report (10.9 MB PDF Document)
NPC-2003 (22-24 September 2003): Report (17.8 MB PDF Document)
