NREL is a national laboratory of the U.S. Department of Energy

Office of Energy Efficiency & Renewable Energy

Operated by the Alliance for Sustainable Energy, LLC.

This report is available at no cost from the National Renewable Energy

Laboratory (NREL) at www.nrel.gov/publications.

Contract No. DE-AC36-08GO28308

Solar Technology Validation 

Project – USS Data, LLC

Cooperative Research and Development 

Final Report

CRADA Number: CRD-09-367-04

NREL Technical Contact: Stephen Wilcox

CRADA Report

NREL/TP-7A10-58743

August 2013
NOTICE

This report was prepared as an account of work sponsored by an agency of the United States government. 

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Cover Photos: (left to right) photo by Pat Corkery, NREL 16416, photo from SunEdison, NREL 17423, photo by Pat Corkery, NREL 

16560, photo by Dennis Schroeder, NREL 17613, photo by Dean Armstrong, NREL 17436, photo by Pat Corkery, NREL 17721.

Printed on paper containing at least 50% wastepaper, including 10% post consumer waste.
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This report is available at no cost from the 

National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) 

at www.nrel.gov/publications.

Cooperative Research and Development Final Report

In accordance with Requirements set forth in Article XI.A(3) of the CRADA document, this 

document is the final CRADA report, including a list of Subject Inventions, to be forwarded to 

the Office of Science and Technical Information as part of the commitment to the public to 

demonstrate results of federally funded research.

CRADA Number: CRD-09-367-04

CRADA Title: Solar Technology Validation Project

Parties to the Agreement: USS Data, LLC

Joint Work Statement Funding Table showing DOE commitment:

Estimated Costs NREL Shared Resources

Year 1 $ 150,000.00

Year 2 $ 90,000.00

Year 3 $ 120,000.00

TOTALS $ 360,000.00

Abstract of CRADA work:

Under this Agreement, NREL will work with Participant to improve concentrating solar power 

system performance characterizations. This work includes, but is not limited to, research and 

development of methods for acquiring renewable resource characterization information using 

site-specific measurements of solar radiation and meteorological conditions; collecting system 

performance data; and developing tools for improving the design, installation, operation, and 

maintenance of solar energy conversion systems. This work will be conducted at NREL and 

Participant facilities.

Summary of Research Results:

This agreement, which resulted in up to four years of high quality solar radiation data, was part 

of the NREL Solar Resource and Meteorological Assessment Project (SOLRMAP). SOLRMAP 

established high quality solar measurements at targeted locations to enable deployment of solar 

power conversion projects in the United States. The measurements provided NREL with critical 

data for model development and other research that advances techniques in solar resource 

assessment. The relationship between NREL and the CRADA partner is summarized in the 

following list:

• Participant shall purchase or lease equipment meeting NREL specifications

• Participant shall provide station infrastructure (e.g., electrical power, communications 

links, equipment, mechanical support structure, site security, etc.)

• Participant shall provide qualified staff for assisting with station setup and station 

operations training at a mutually acceptable date (approximately one to two days)
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This report is available at no cost from the 

National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) 

at www.nrel.gov/publications.

• Participant shall commit staff and resources for ongoing station maintenance according to 

NREL specifications (perpetual during duration of agreement)

• Participant shall assist NREL with instrument calibrations as required to maintain 

traceability to calibration standards (e.g., instrument swaps, shipping, site visits)

• NREL shall specify instrument type and how instruments are installed and maintained

• NREL shall fund supervision for on-location station setup (to include NREL labor and 

travel for instrument setup, but to exclude participant labor, travel, equipment, and 

infrastructure-related costs)

• NREL shall provide on-site training of participant staff as part of site visit for station 

setup

• At the request of the Participant, NREL shall provide an opportunity for additional oneday training of participant staff at the Solar Radiation Research Laboratory (SRRL) in 

Golden, Colorado at a date to be determined

• NREL shall provide ongoing data quality assessment, data distribution, and archiving.

• NREL shall provide data summaries on an annual (or otherwise stipulated) schedule to 

include reports on resource magnitude and variability and data uncertainty. Summaries 

and reports will not provide analysis of the suitability of the solar resource for any 

application or technology deployment. NREL makes no representations as to the 

suitability of any location for a renewable energy technology facility or the economic 

performance of such facility

• NREL shall fund regular instrument calibrations (excluding participant labor and 

shipping costs)

• NREL shall enter into a non-disclosure agreement, if requested and justified by 

participants, to maintain data confidentiality and restrict access.

The CRADA provided NREL with sub-hourly solar and meteorological data that have been used 

to validate satellite-based solar resource model results, provide a basis for economic analyses of 

solar power plant viability, and as a catalyst for significant improvements in field measurement 

campaigns. As a result of NREL involvement, the CRADA partner had access to the same high 

quality data that otherwise may not have been available to support increased penetration of solar 

energy in the nation’s energy mix.

Subject Inventions Listing: None

Report Date: 5/20/13

Responsible Technical Contact at Alliance/NREL: Stephen Wilcox

This document contains NO confidential, protectable, or proprietary information.