Global Solar Power Tracker Methodology

This article is part of the Global Solar Power Tracker, a Global Energy Monitor project.

Report an error

Architecture

Global Energy Monitor’s Global Solar Power Tracker uses a two-level system for organizing information, consisting of both a database and wiki pages with further information. The database tracks individual solar farm phases and includes information such as project owner, status, and location. A wiki page for each solar farm is created within the Global Energy Monitor wiki. The database and wiki pages are updated annually.

Inclusion Criteria

The Global Solar Power Tracker includes photovoltaic (PV) and solar thermal electricity generating projects. Solar projects for captive industry, including hydrogen production, are tracked. The Global Solar Power Tracker aims to comprehensively track all project phases larger than 20 MW, except for Arabic-speaking countries where the coverage is for all project phases larger than 10 MW. We have also begun including smaller projects for some countries.

Status Categories

• Announced: Proposed projects that have been described in corporate or government plans but have not yet taken concrete steps such as applying for permits.
• Pre-construction: Projects are actively moving forward in seeking governmental approvals, land rights, or financing.
• Construction: Site preparation or equipment installation are underway.
• Operating: The project has been formally commissioned; the commercial operation date has been achieved.
• Shelved: Suspension has been announced, or no progress has been observed for at least two years.
• Cancelled: A cancellation announcement has been made, or no progress has been observed for at least four years.
• Retired: The project has been decommissioned.
• Mothballed: The project is disused, but not dismantled.

Technology Types

• Photovoltaic (PV): Photovoltaic technology uses the photoelectric effect to directly convert sunlight into electricity. Large-scale PV projects consist of thousands of solar panels, themselves composed of tens of individual solar cells, that are wired together and often converted from direct current to alternating current and fed to the electricity grid.
• Solar Thermal: Solar Thermal technology uses Concentrated Solar Power (CSP) or any technology that uses sunlight to generate heat. To be included in the tracker, that heat must  then be used to generate electricity, usually by spinning a turbine. Such technologies include solar towers, solar troughs, solar chimneys, and fresnel reflectors.
• Assumed PV: Because PV installations outnumber solar thermal installations by nearly 100:1 if GEM comes across any project phases that are only refereed to as 'solar' without any mention of the type of underlying technology we categorize them as "assumed pv" rather than simply unknown.

Research Process

The Global Solar Power Tracker data set draws on various public data sources, including:

• Government data on individual power solar farms (such as India Central Electricity Authority’s “Plant Wise Details of All India Renewable Energy Projects” and the U.S. EIA 860 Electric Generator Inventory), country energy and resource plans, and government websites tracking solar farm permits and applications;
• Reports by power companies (both state-owned and private);
• News and media reports;
• Local non-governmental organizations tracking solar farms or permits.

A partial list of data sources can be found here.

Global Energy Monitor researchers perform data validation by comparing our dataset against proprietary and public data such as S&P Global’s World Energy Power Plant database, the World Resource Institute’s Global Power Plant Database, CSP Guru, as well as various company and government sources.

Wiki Pages

For each solar farm, a wiki page is created on Global Energy Monitor’s wiki. Under standard wiki convention, all information is linked to a publicly-accessible published reference, such as a news article, company or government report, or a regulatory permit. In order to ensure data integrity in the open-access wiki environment, Global Energy Monitor researchers review all edits of project wiki pages.

Mapping

To allow easy public access to the results, Global Energy Monitor worked with GreenInfo Network to develop a map-based and table-based interface using the Leaflet Open-Source JavaScript library. In the case of exact coordinates, locations are either specifically identified on a mapping service such as Google Maps, Open Street Maps, etc., or gathered from company or government documentation. If the location of a solar farm or proposal is not known, Global Energy Monitor identifies the most accurate location possible based on available information.

Global Solar Power Tracker Release Notes

May 2023

• This update covers research on Europe, Cyprus, and mainland China, as per United Nations’ region and subregion definitions.
• Project phases below the 20 MW global threshold (10 MW for Arabic-speaking countries) are provided for some countries when the data were readily available. Data on the below threshold phases is available in the downloadable dataset in a separate tab called ‘Below Threshold.’

January 2023

• All global regions with the exception of Europe have been researched for this update.
• The Global Solar Power Tracker now includes solar thermal projects, also known as Concentrated Solar Power (CSP).
• Global Energy Monitor has transitioned to using the United Nations’ region and subregion definitions.
• The Global Solar Power Tracker has replaced the word "development" in the status domain with the term "pre-construction" to support consistent language across all of Global Energy Monitor’s trackers. The definition of "pre-construction" is consistent with the tracker’s previous definition of "development."
• Global Energy Monitor has adopted the name "Türkiye" as a replacement for "Turkey."

Sub-threshold Inclusion Methodology

Generally sub-threshold projects were included in the tracker when there was a country-wide government dataset available. Because of limited funding, it is important to note that some below threshold projects may not have been as thoroughly researched as the projects that meet our threshold criteria. Sub-threshold projects were not displayed on the Global Solar Power Tracker Map, nor were they included in any of the Global Solar Power Tracker Summary Tables. Sub-threshold projects generally did not get a GEM wiki-page, although sub-threshold phases of projects that have above-threshold phases were included on that wiki page, for example see Lost Hills-Blackwell solar farm. In the downloadable dataset, all sub-threshold projects were provided in a separate tab. GEM location and phase IDs were given to all entries, including below threshold projects. Any project phases below 1MW were not included, although in some cases such projects were aggregated to the Local Area level (county, district, township) and included if their aggregate capacity was above 1MW.

Because the methodology for incorporating below threshold projects and phases was dependent on the country being researched, below we provide information on how such projects were brought in on a per country basis.

Argentina

December 2023 Release

When easily available, information for already operational subthreshold plants (greater than 1 MW) are provided in the database. The majority of included plants are collected throughout the course of the year from solar industry newsletters.

Barbados

December 2023 Release

When easily available, information for already operational subthreshold plants (greater than 1 MW) are provided in the database.

Bolivia

December 2023 Release

When easily available, information for already operational subthreshold plants (greater than 1 MW) are provided in the database. The majority of included plants are collected throughout the course of the year from solar industry newsletters.

Chile

December 2023 Release

When easily available, information for already operational subthreshold plants (greater than 1 MW) are provided in the database. The majority of included plants are collected throughout the course of the year from solar industry newsletters.

Ireland

May 2023 Release

In order to capture a more comprehensive view of Irish solar, below-threshold phases were included as long as they were greater than 1 MW and connected (or slated to be connected) to the grid when easily available through company websites. Stratkraft and EDF Renewables constitute the companies with included solar farms below 20 MW.

Italy

May 2023 Release

The state-owned energy service operator in Italy, Gestore dei Servizi Energetici (GSE), provided a database of renewable energy projects, including solar on their website. The dataset provided only information on the region, province, and comune (township) and capacity of all electricity producing installations connected to the GSE network. The AC capacity value was used in determining the threshold values and the capacity was rounded to the nearest 100kW. This dataset only provided information on projects already operational and so every entry was given the status of "operating". The Project Name was generated from the Commune and Provincia location information with the addition of "solar farm" at the end. In the case of duplicated project names, roman numerals were used to distinguish projects.

Because this dataset had many entries below the 1 MW lower threshold, all of those data were aggregated (summed) at the Provincia (Local area) level. The Project Name for the aggregated information was generated by taking the name of the Provincia and adding "Aggregated Provincia Level Sub-1MW Solar Projects". Any province-level aggregations that were still below 1 MW were dropped from the final dataset.

France

May 2023 Release

The government of France provided a national register of electricity generation on their government data website. However, the website specified that the data originated from the ODRÉ (Open Data Réseaux-Énergies). The dataset provided information on electricity producing facilities connected directly or indirectly to the public electricity networks in mainland France. The AC capacity value was used in determining the threshold values and the capacity was rounded to the nearest 100kW. This dataset only provided information on projects already operational and so every entry was given the status of "operating". The Project Name was generated from the "nomIstallation" field in the dataset with the addition of 'solar farm' at the end. For projects with the same name, for example there are many installations with the name "Confidentiel", the city name was prepended. If there are further non-unique Project Names, roman numerals were used to distinguish projects.

Because this dataset had many entries below the 1 MW lower threshold, all of those data were aggregated at the department (Local area) level. The aggregation sums the capacity and provided a capacity weighted average for the Start year. The Project Name for the aggregated information was generated by taking the name of the department and adding "Aggregated Department Level Sub-1MW Solar Projects". Any department-level aggregations that were still below 1 MW were dropped from the final dataset.

Germany

May 2023 Release

Germany has a central registrar, the Market Master Data Register (Marktstammdatenregister), where all active power plants connected to the grid for the generation of electricity or gas must be registered, including all solar installations connected to the grid, regardless of size. The list of registered projects is publicly accessible and can be queried here. All solar PV projects on the register were downloaded in March 2023, resulting in over 2 million separate projects, nearly all of which were below 1 MW. To present this data in a digestible way, all projects under 1 MWp/dc were differentiated by status and then aggregated at the state level and a capacity-weighted average is used for the start year for those aggregated entries. The Project Name for the aggregated information was then listed as "Aggregated [Status] [State Name] State Level Sub-1MW Solar Projects". Locations for these aggregated projects are approximate and are given as roughly the center of state.

Projects above the 1 MW and below 20 MW are also provided. Multiple entries in the Market Master Data Register with the same Project Name were differentiated by adding a roman numeral to the name. The register ID is prepended with "MASTR: " and then provided for each of these projects in order to accurately connect entries in the tracker to the original German government database project entries.

Greece

May 2023 Release

Greece maintains and publishes a database of licenses for renewable energy projects over 1 MW. There are three licenses needed to install an energy project: a production license, an installation license, and finally a license to operate. The Regulatory Authority for Energy (RAE), Ρυθμιστική Αρχή Ενέργειας (ΡΑΕ), provides downloadable lists of all projects for each type of license. Just because a project has the license to operate does not necessarily mean that projects is currently operating, and for all of our above threshold projects additional research was done to verify operation. However, for our below threshold data, we assumed that any project with a operating license was operational. Likewise, any project below 20 MW with an installation license was considered to have a 'construction' status. Projects with a capacity below 20 MW with a production license were not included.

Panama

December 2023 Release

The Autoridad Nacional de los Servicios Públicos (ASEP) of Panama maintains a list of licenses for plants in operation, construction, and pre-construction. All plants in ASEP's database over 1 MW were included in the dataset to provide a more comprehensive view of below threshold Panamanian solar projects.

Paraguay

December 2023 Release

Information for all plants in the country greater than 1 MW were included. As of 2023 only two plants met this criteria as Paraguay continues to rely on hydropower.

Portugal

May 2023 Release

In order to capture a more comprehensive view of Portuguese solar below-threshold phases were included as long as they were greater than 1 MW and connected to the grid. Company websites were used to round out projects which had phases above and below threshold. Additionally, the Portugal Association of Renewable Energies (APREN) published a list of production and operation licenses for solar projects that require a license, and this list was used to get all solar projects over 1MW.

Puerto Rico

December 2023 Release

The United States of America maintains and publishes a Preliminary Monthly Electric Generator Inventory (based on Form EIA-860M as a supplement to Form EIA-860) which includes project information for Operating and Planned projects in Puerto Rico. Projects over 1 MW have been included in order to provide a more comprehensive understanding of photovoltaic projects in Puerto Rico.

Spain

May 2023 Release

When readily available, researcher added projects between 10-20 MW. The projects within the 10-20 MW range does not represent a comprehensive look at solar projects in Spain.

Suriname

December 2023 Release

When easily available, information for already operational subthreshold plants (greater than 1 MW) are provided in the database.

United Kingdom

May 2023 Release

The United Kingdom government provided a database of renewable energy projects, including solar PV on their website. This information is updated at least once per year, and provides information on project name, operating year (where applicable), location coordinates, local area, country within the United Kingdom (England, Scotland, Wales or Northern Ireland), and capacity of all projects. This dataset also provided information on project status. While these project status descriptions did not completely match Status Categories found in the Global Solar Power Tracker Datasets, they were evaluated and realigned to conform within Status Categories. The dataset included identification numbers for each submission, which were prepended with the identifier “GB: “, and added to the solar power tracker in order to accurately connect entries in the tracker to the original United Kingdom government database project entries.

In order to capture a more comprehensive view of solar power in the United Kingdom, below-threshold phases were included for projects greater than 1 MW. The dataset also included entries below the 1 MW lower threshold. These projects were aggregated (summed) at the County (Local area) level. The Project Name for aggregated information was generated by taking the name of the County and adding “Aggregated County Name Sub-1MW Solar Projects”. In the case of duplicated project names, roman numerals were used to distinguish projects.

Uruguay

December 2023 Release

When easily available, information for already operational subthreshold plants (greater than 1 MW) are provided in the database.

US Virgin Islands

December 2023 Release

When easily available, information for already operational subthreshold plants (greater than 1 MW) are provided in the database.