The Himawari based solar resource data uses the Physical Solar Model version 3 (PSM v3) which is similar to the model used in the National Solar Radiation Database (NSRDB) The Himawari: PSM v3 provides a serially complete collection of 30 minute values of the three most common measurements of solar radiation—global horizontal, direct normal, and diffuse horizontal irradiance—and meteorological data at a 2 km resolution. The data is available for all locations covered by the Himawari satellite. These API provide access to downloading the data. Other options are detailed here. Read more about the datasets at https://nsrdb.nrel.gov
This API is capable of creating very large downloadable archives. Unlike a typical API, the response to this provides a request acknowledgement. The real work of creating the requested downloadable archive will continue to run on the server side. When complete, and email will be sent to the email address provided in the initial request with a link to a file to download. In addition to this two step workflow, there is also an option for users who wish to download a single CSV file in direct response to an API request. The .csv format may be used to download a CSV directly. This feature is restricted to use with only a single POINT, for a single YEAR at a time.
This production of this dataset was supported by USAID and used the latest research methods by a specialized team of scientists at the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL).
GET|POST /api/nsrdb/v2/solar/himawari7-download.format?parameters
NOTE: when using POST to submit a request the api_key must still be included as a query parameter in the url. All other parameters may be included in a POST request as part of the payload.
Parameter | Required | Value | Description |
---|---|---|---|
api_key | Yes |
Type: string
Default: None
|
Your developer API key. See API keys for more information. |
wkt | Yes |
Type: well-known text string
Default: None
|
A well-known text (WKT) representation of the geometry for which to extract data. May be a point, multipoint, or polygon geometry. When a point is passed the site nearest to that point is used. When a multipoint is passed the site nearest each point is used. This can be useful for downloading multiple sites in a single request when those sites are geographically distant from each other. When a polygon is passed all sites that intersect with the given polygon are used. |
attributes | No |
Type: comma delimited string array
Default: Returns ALL
Options: air_temperature, alpha, aod, asymmetry, cld_opd_dcomp, cld_reff_dcomp, clearsky_dhi, clearsky_dni, clearsky_ghi, cloud_type, dew_point, dhi, dni, fill_flag, ghi, ozone, relative_humidity, solar_zenith_angle, ssa, surface_albedo, surface_pressure, total_precipitable_water, wind_direction, wind_speed.
|
Each specified attribute(*) will be returned as a column in the resultant CSV download. |
names | Yes |
Type: comma delimited string array
Default: None
Options: 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015.
|
The year(s) for which data should be extracted. |
utc | No |
Type: true or false
Default: true
|
Pass true to retrieve data with timestamps in UTC. Pass false to retrieve data with timestamps converted to local time of data point (without daylight savings time). |
leap_day | No |
Type: true or false
Default: false
|
Pass true to retrieve data including leap day (where appropriate). Pass false to retrieve data excluding leap day. |
interval | Yes |
Type: 30 or 60
Default:30
|
This value determines data resolution. Either 30 or 60 minute intervals are available. |
full_name | No |
Type: string
Default: None
|
The full name of the user requesting data. |
Yes |
Type: email string
Default: None
|
An active email for the user requesting data. This email will be used to deliver the extracted data. | |
affiliation | No |
Type: string
Default: None
|
The organization with which the user requesting the data is affiliated. |
reason | No |
Type: string
Default: None
|
The reason that the user is requesting the data. |
mailing_list | No |
Type: true or false
Default: false
|
Pass true to add the email address to our list of recipients for the NSRDB mailing list. |
The response is composed of service-related informational fields and the results of the data query.
Field | Value | Description |
---|---|---|
errors |
Type: string array
|
A list of error messages |
inputs |
Type: Object Hash
|
Key: Value pairs representing all input parameters |
outputs |
Type: Object Hash
|
Upon successful completion a message will be returned informing the user that file generation is in progress and an email will be sent to the address provided in the email input field when the download is ready |
Generated data files are formatted in accordance with the Standard Time Series Data File Format. This file format has been developed to support SAM and other NREL models and is documented fully in this PDF. More information on SAM file formats available on the SAM weather page.
GET /api/nsrdb/v2/solar/himawari7-download.json?api_key=DEMO_KEY&full_name=Sample+User&email=user@company.com&affiliation=Test+Organization&reason=Example&mailing_list=true&wkt=POINT(14.61 -24.26)&attributes=wind_speed&names=2011&utc=true&leap_day=true&interval=30
{
"inputs": {
"wkt": "POINT(179.9901 -16.96)",
"attributes": "alpha,aod,ghi,dni,dhi",
"names": "2011",
"utc": "true",
"leap_day": "true",
"interval": "30",
"email": "user@company.com",
"no_cache": "true"
},
"metadata": {
"version": "2.0.0",
"resultset": {
"count": 1
}
},
"status": 200,
"outputs": {
"message": "File generation in progress. An email will be sent to user@company.com when the download is ready.",
"downloadUrl": "https://mapfiles.nrel.gov/data/solar/e3e3b0fb24a646b8ae920f628ebdc62e.zip"
},
"errors": []
}
Direct streaming of CSV data is supported for single location, single year only. The following response example is truncated after the first few rows of data.
GET /api/nsrdb/v2/solar/himawari7-download.csv?api_key=DEMO_KEY&wkt=POINT(179.9901 -16.96)&attributes=alpha,aod,ghi,dni,dhi&names=2011&utc=true&leap_day=true&interval=30&email=user@company.com
Source,Location ID,City,State,Country,Latitude,Longitude,Time Zone,Elevation,Local Time Zone,Clearsky DHI Units,Clearsky DNI Units,Clearsky GHI Units,Dew Point Units,DHI Units,DNI Units,GHI Units,Solar Zenith Angle Units,Temperature Units,Pressure Units,Relative Humidity Units,Precipitable Water Units,Wind Direction Units,Wind Speed,Cloud Type -15,Cloud Type 0,Cloud Type 1,Cloud Type 2,Cloud Type 3,Cloud Type 4,Cloud Type 5,Cloud Type 6,Cloud Type 7,Cloud Type 8,Cloud Type 9,Cloud Type 10,Cloud Type 11,Cloud Type 12,Fill Flag 0,Fill Flag 1,Fill Flag 2,Fill Flag 3,Fill Flag 4,Fill Flag 5,Surface Albedo Units,Version
NSRDB,8683089,-,b'Northern',b'Fiji',-16.96,179.99,0,45,12,w/m2,w/m2,w/m2,c,w/m2,w/m2,w/m2,Degree,c,mbar,%,cm,Degrees,m/s,N/A,Clear,Probably Clear,Fog,Water,Super-Cooled Water,Mixed,Opaque Ice,Cirrus,Overlapping,Overshooting,Unknown,Dust,Smoke,N/A,Missing Image,Low Irradiance,Exceeds Clearsky,Missing CLoud Properties,Rayleigh Violation,N/A,unknown
Year,Month,Day,Hour,Minute,Alpha,AOD,GHI,DNI,DHI
2011,1,1,0,0,0.9,0.0687,219,9,210
2011,1,1,0,30,0.9,0.0687,468,36,432
2011,1,1,1,0,0.92,0.0679,383,22,362
2011,1,1,1,30,0.92,0.0679,180,4,175
2011,1,1,2,0,0.9400000000000001,0.0668,143,0,143
2011,1,1,2,30,0.9400000000000001,0.0668,122,0,122
2011,1,1,3,0,0.97,0.0671,56,0,56
2011,1,1,3,30,0.97,0.0671,89,0,89
2011,1,1,4,0,1,0.0668,54,0,54
2011,1,1,4,30,1,0.0668,74,0,74
2011,1,1,5,0,1.03,0.06520000000000001,64,0,64
2011,1,1,5,30,1.03,0.06520000000000001,29,0,29
2011,1,1,6,0,1.05,0.0636,15,0,15
2011,1,1,6,30,1.05,0.0636,12,76,10
2011,1,1,7,0,1.07,0.061700000000000005,0,0,0
2011,1,1,7,30,1.07,0.061700000000000005,0,0,0
2011,1,1,8,0,1.08,0.0606,0,0,0
2011,1,1,8,30,1.08,0.0606,0,0,0
2011,1,1,9,0,1.09,0.060000000000000005,0,0,0
2011,1,1,9,30,1.09,0.060000000000000005,0,0,0
2011,1,1,10,0,1.1,0.060200000000000004,0,0,0
2011,1,1,10,30,1.1,0.060200000000000004,0,0,0
import requests
url = "http://developer.nrel.gov/api/nsrdb/v2/solar/himawari7-download.json?api_key=yourapikeygoeshere"
payload = "wkt=POINT(179.9901 -16.96)&attributes=alpha,aod,ghi,dni,dhi&names=2011&utc=true&leap_day=true&interval=30&email=user@company.com"
headers = {
'content-type': "application/x-www-form-urlencoded",
'cache-control': "no-cache"
}
response = requests.request("POST", url, data=payload, headers=headers)
print(response.text)
Rate limits for this application are significantly less than the standard rate limits for developer.nrel.gov. This decrease in the limit is required as the data provided through this service is significantly more computationally intensive to generate and provide. These rate limits are carefully calculated to allow all users the maximum throughput that our servers can sustain.
There are several levels of rate limiting for this service. The first limit determines how many requests a given user can make per 24 hour period. For requests utilizing the .csv format this rate limit is set at 5000 a day at a frequency of no more than 1 per second. For all other requests this limit is set at 1000 requests per day at a frequency of no more than 1 every 2 seconds.
Secondly each user is limited to 20 in-flight requests at any given time.
In addition, the service has a fail-safe mechanism to prevent significant performance decreases that can be caused by unexpectedly high usage of the service. This limit will cause the service to stop accepting requests when the queue reaches a point where additional requests will significantly lower server performance. When this limit is hit, the service will error with a message describing that the request queue is full.
For some tips and tricks to maximize data downloads please read the guide here.
For questions about the API or the data models please contact nsrdb@nrel.gov
Standard errors may be returned. In addition, the following service-specific errors may be returned:
HTTP Status Code | Description |
---|---|
400 | Bad Request: When required parameters are missing. |