National Solar Radiation Data Base Updated
by John Laumer, Philadelphia 
on 05.24.07
The updated 1991-2005 National Solar Radiation Data Base (NSRDB) is now available from NREL and the National Climatic Data Center. The update (472 pp) includes solar and meteorological data from 1,454 sites in the U.S., as well as a 10-km resolution hourly solar data set for 1998-2005. In addition to the expanded station list, this update differs from the original NSRDB several ways. It contains:
• New or modified solar models
• New gridded data product
• New station identification numbers
• A new station classification scheme
• New data formats
• Different meteorological fields
• Revised uncertainty estimates.
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...and.....what's this for? Evaluating potential for my solar panels, or avoiding skin cancer?
===== authors' response follows ===
Both, and then some. As climate changes, so do local weather patterns, which in turn modifies solar radiance reaching the earth's surface. Payback period on your solar panels and agriculture are affected.