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 Resource Measurements 

in Humboldt State University, 

Arcata, California

Cooperative Research and Development 

Final Report

CRADA Number: CRD-08-262

NREL Technical Contact: Tom Stoffel (Primary); 

Afshin Andreas (Alternate)

CRADA Report

NREL/TP-5200-60425

January 2014
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.

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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-08-262

CRADA Title: Solar Resource Measurements in Humboldt State University, Arcata, CA. 

Equipment Loaned to Participant

Parties to the Agreement: Humboldt State University

Joint Work Statement Funding Table showing DOE Commitment:

Estimated Costs NREL Shared Resources

Year 1 $ 1,575.00

Year 2 $ 00.00

Year 3 $ 00.00

TOTALS $ 1,575.00

Abstract of CRADA Work:

Site-specific, long-term, continuous, and high-resolution measurements of solar irradiance are 

important for developing renewable resource data. These data are used for several research and 

development activities consistent with the NREL mission:

• Establish a national 30-year climatological database of measured solar irradiances 

• Provide high quality ground-truth data for satellite remote sensing validation

• Support development of radiative transfer models for estimating solar irradiance from 

available meteorological observations

• Provide solar resource information needed for technology deployment and operations.

Data acquired under this agreement will be available to the public through NREL’s Measurement 

& Instrumentation Data Center - MIDC (www.nrel.gov/midc) or the Renewable Resource Data 

Center - RReDC (http://rredc.nrel.gov). The MIDC offers a variety of standard data display, 

access, and analysis tools designed to address the needs of a wide user audience (e.g., industry, 

academia, and government interests).
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This report is available at no cost from the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) at www.nrel.gov/publications.

Summary of Research Results:

Since 2006, faculty and staff at Humboldt State University collected solar resource 

measurements at their campus in Arcata, California, using equipment on loan from NREL. The 

equipment was used to train students on the operation and maintenance of solar radiometers. The 

resulting data augment the solar resource climatology information required for solar resource 

characterizations in the United States. The cooperative agreement also supported NREL’s goal of 

developing an educated workforce to advance renewable energy technologies.

Additional information about the Renewable Energy Student Union and their Solar Radiation 

Monitoring Station is available from http://now.humboldt.edu/news/monitors-fill-gap-in-sunmap/ and NREL’s MIDC.

Subject Inventions Listing:

N/A

Report Date:

September 11, 2013

Responsible Technical Contact at Alliance/NREL:

Tom Stoffel (Primary); Afshin Andreas (Alternate)

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