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Results for “solar siting”

Search indexed NASA NTRS and DOE OSTI research on propulsion, heat transfer, battery materials and energy systems. Follow report and document links to the original sources.

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At least 19 records
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
NASA NTRS1980

Solar site test module

A solar site test module using the Rockwell AIM 65microcomputer is described. The module is designed to work at any site where an IBM site data acquisition system (SDAS) is installed and is intended primarily as a troubleshooting tool. It collects sensor information (temperatures, flow rates, etc.) and displays or prints it immediately in calibrated engineering units. It will read one sensor on demand, periodically read up to 10sensors or periodically read all sensors. Performance calculations can also be included with sensor data. Unattended operation is possible to, e.g., monitor a group of sensors once per hour. Work is underway to add a data acquisition system to the test module so that it can be used at sites which have no SDAS.

Kissel, R. R.↗
DOE OSTI2023

Vegetation Management Cost and Maintenance Implications of Different Ground Covers at Utility-Scale Solar Sites

Utility-scale solar photovoltaics (PV) is the largest and fastest-growing sector of the solar energy market, and plays an important role in ensuring that state and local jurisdictions can meet renewable energy targets. Potential adverse environmental impacts of utility-scale solar PV are well-documented, and the effects of diverse mitigation and dual land use strategies under the banner of ’low-impact solar’ are justly receiving more attention; this article seeks to contribute to improving understanding of this topic. Capital costs for different PV configurations are well-documented; however, operation and maintenance (O&M) costs for vegetation management at low-impact utility-scale solar PV sites are not as well-understood, particularly as they compare to costs for sites that use more conventional ground cover practices, such as turfgrass or gravel. After a literature review of different vegetation strategies and O&M cost considerations, we collected data from utility-scale solar PV O&M stakeholders, including site owners/operators, O&M service providers, vegetation maintenance companies, and solar graziers, on costs and activities associated with vegetation management at low-impact, agrivoltaic, and conventional PV sites. In this paper, we perform data analysis to detail the per-activity and total O&M costs for vegetation management at PV sites with different ground covers and management practices, providing the most comprehensive and detailed assessment of PV vegetation O&M costs to date. For the 54 sites included in our analysis, we found that while the per-acre and per-kilowattdc (kWdc) costs for individual activities, such as mowing, trimming, and herbicide application at native or pollinator friendly ground covers, were lower than at turfgrass sites, the total combined vegetation O&M costs were slightly higher; this is presumably because more individual activities are required for the first 3–5 years of vegetation establishment. Qualitative results include recommendations from data providers for site and system design, and ongoing vegetation management operations.

14 SOLAR ENERGY↗
DOE OSTI2025

U.S. Solar Siting Regulation and Zoning Ordinances (2025)

A machine readable collection of documented solar siting ordinances at the state and local (e.g., county, township) level throughout the United States. The data were compiled using the Infrastructure Continuous Ordinance Mapping for Planning and Siting Systems (INFRA-COMPASS) tool, which leverages Large Language Models (LLMs) to automate the collection of local codes and ordinances applicable to energy infrastructure. URLs for the ordinance source documents are included in the Solar Ordinances spreadsheet. The GeoPackage file included below contains the jurisdiction shapes for each ordinance. Note that the GeoPackage file is formatted for ingestion by NLR's reVX setbacks tool and therefore does not contain any of the state-level regulations. NOTE: This data was collected with the help of generative AI. The Large Language Models used for this effort make mistakes. Always validate the data for critical use cases. This data is an update to a previously developed database of wind ordinances found in OEDI Submission 5734: see the "U.S. Solar Siting Regulation and Zoning Ordinances 2022" link below. INFRA-COMPASS version used for collection: v0.11.3 LLMs used for collection: GPT-4.1, GPT-4.1 mini, GPT-4.1 nano

14 SOLAR ENERGY↗
DOE OSTI2024

Little prairie under the panel: testing native pollinator habitat seed mix establishment at three utility-scale solar sites in Minnesota

Abstract As more land is being utilized for large-scale solar energy projects, there are increasing discussions from stakeholders on how to utilize land under solar panels to promote biodiversity. One path is to plant habitat beneficial to pollinators and other insects, but there have been few long-term studies that examine how different vegetation and seed mixes establish underneath solar panels. This study addresses a scientific gap to determine whether native pollinator seed mixes successfully establish over time under solar arrays using a systematic assessment of eight seed mixes planted at three utility-scale solar sites in Minnesota. We assess establishment with a percent native coverage metric, which is an assessment of native species observations compared to total observations during percent cover analyses in our vegetative test plots. The percent native coverage metric allows for a measurement of how the seed mix established and how the seed mix persists over time. The percent native coverage under and in between the solar photovoltaic (PV) arrays rose from 10% after one year of planting to 58% after three years across all sites, while the native coverage of the full sun control area rose from 9.6% to 70% under the same period, showing that native prairie and pollinator plants successfully established under the array, although to a lesser extent than in full sun conditions. Percent native coverage under the PV arrays rose 5- to 8-fold for each of the three sites from over the course of the study, while the coverage of weeds decreased for all three sites over the same period. Percent native coverage varied by seed mix over the project years, but every seed mix experienced a higher percent native coverage year after year under the PV arrays. Our results did not indicate a difference in establishment across placement within the array; the center, west, and east portions of the areas in between panels had similar establishment rates at two out of three sites, indicating that the same seed mix can be applied throughout the array. Out of 101 plant species seeded, we observed the establishment of 68 species in our vegetative test plots, and we detailed the top 20 observed species to inform future seed mix development. Based on these findings, native pollinator vegetation can establish over time at solar arrays, and it can be suitable for creating habitat at utility-scale solar sites.

14 SOLAR ENERGY↗
NASA NTRS1981

Solar-site test module

Report describes small test set which interrogates solar-energy data acquisition systems. Lightweight, portable set includes microcomputer with keyboard, alphanumeric display, printer, cassette recorder/player for storing programs and data, and cable for connection to Site Data Acquisition System (SDAS). Unit is operated by BASIC program and Assembly language. Report is specific to DOE/NASA application yet contains general information to assist in designing similar units.

Kissel, R. R.↗
NASA NTRS1980

Siting solar thermal power experiments

The Small Community Solar Thermal Power Experiment will test a point-focusing, distributed receiver system in a small community, electric utility application. Site planning is becoming increasingly important for solar experiments as well as all kinds of development due to increased competition for desirable sites and increased complexity of regulatory requirements. Siting issues can be categorized as: (1) resources and physical environmental at this site; (2) acquisition, permits and regulations; and (3) development requirements and costs. These issues are addressed with respect to the unique requirements of solar thermal power experiments.

Holbeck, H. J.↗
NASA NTRS2020

Georgia Energy III Project Summary - Identifying Habitat and Solar Site Conflict in Georgia by Developing an Environmental Sensitivity Public Mapping Too

The rapid expansion of the solar industry across the state of Georgia has a detrimental effect on the habitats of keystone and threatened species, such as the gopher tortoise (Gopherus polyphemus) and the American black bear (Ursus americanus). NASA DEVELOP collaborated with the Georgia Chapter of The Nature Conservancy (TNC) and the Georgia Department of Natural Resources to continue the research from two previous NASA DEVELOP projects in 2017. The team worked to assess the conflict between solar suitability and environmentally sensitive areas with the Land-Use Conflict Identification Strategy (LUCIS) and to determine how conflict has changed since the 2017 analysis. The project utilized Terra/Aqua Clouds and the Earth's Radiant Energy System (CERES) satellite data and other ancillary datasets to conduct and compare a general statewide LUCIS analysis from 2017 to 2019 and to complete an in-depth LUCIS analysis of Georgia’s fastest-growing solar counties—Taylor, Twiggs, Decatur, and Brooks. The analysis indicated that between 2017 and 2019, the entire state saw high conflict areas increase by 38%. Project partners will use these findings to target areas for promotion of conservation policy and education efforts. The team also provided the TNC with a publicly available web application, called the Environmental Sensitivity Mapping Tool (ESMT), that can be updated as new data are released. The ESMT will be used to educate interest groups, such as solar developers and conservationists, to help them recognize and mitigate the negative effects of solar development on the environment.

DEVELOP Project Summary↗
DOE OSTI2026

Solar and Battery Storage Permitting and Siting Requirements - Solar Prize Round 7 (CRADA Final Report)

The purpose of this research project was to aggregate zoning and permitting data for utility-scale solar PV and battery energy storage systems. The ultimate goal of this collaboration is to lower solar and battery energy storage system soft costs by streamlining regulatory due diligence and reducing the burden of conducting feasibility assessments for solar and storage systems. The below sections describe the specific research completed by NLR (the contractor) in furtherance of the agreement with Vanox (the participant).

14 SOLAR ENERGY↗
DOE OSTI2025

Solar and Battery Storage Permitting and Siting Requirements - Solar Prize Round 7 (CRADA Final Report)

The purpose of this project is to identify local zoning ordinances, state permitting requirements, federal regulatory bottlenecks throughout the development process, and the potential to use Large Language Models (LLM) and aggregate permitting and interconnection data for commercial and industrial (C&I), community, and utility-scale solar photovoltaic (PV) and battery storage projects.

14 SOLAR ENERGY↗
DOE OSTI2024

Comparison of Greenhouse Gas Emission Assessments of Solar and Energy Efficiency Improvements at Small Water Resource Recovery Facilities

Small water resource recovery facilities (WRRFs) account for the majority of centralized systems in the world and have higher energy intensities than large facilities. This study compares potential greenhouse gas emission reductions based on on-site solar energy and energy efficiency (E2) improvements made at small WRRFs. Case study data from 31 existing small WRRFs in Nebraska were collected and included 35 site-specific energy efficiency (E2) recommendations and on-site solar renewable energy systems integrated at three facilities, and the data were used to compare the benefits of on-site solar energy and E2 improvements made at small WRRFs. Improvements in E2 (e.g., improved aeration control) presented the largest reduction in emissions per dollar invested. They often exhibited shorter paybacks, with operational changes in aeration strategies showing the highest impact (up to 0.2 kg CO2eq/m3 treated water). On-site solar systems showed the largest net potential for reducing environmental footprint (0.35 kg CO2eq/m3) but often showed the smallest emissions reduction per cost. While the use of both E2 improvements and the integration of on-site solar renewable energy can significantly improve the sustainability of small WRRFs, on-site solar has advantages for small facilities in that it often requires less operational involvement, allows for greater facility resiliency, and presents less uncertainty in terms of environmental benefit.

Thompson, Matthew↗
NASA NTRS1977

Subsystem design package for the on-site monitor at solar heating and cooling sites

The on-site monitor is a portable device which can be easily connected to a Site Data Acquisition Subsystem to allow readouts of realtime sensor data in voltage or engineering units at instrumented solar heating and cooling sites. The design package consists of the performance specification, performance requirements cross reference, and the acceptance test procedure.

Source record↗
DOE OSTI2026

Guideline for Characterizing and Evaluating a Candidate Project Site for Solar Thermal Applications

This document presents a structured procedure for characterizing and evaluating candidate project sites for concentrating solar power (CSP) and solar heat for industrial processes (SHIP) applications. The objective is to provide project developers, researchers, and other stakeholders with a consistent, technology-agnostic framework for early-stage site assessment, enabling informed decision-making prior to significant investment in project development. Site selection is a critical factor in project success or failure for both CSP and SHIP projects. Key factors such as solar resource availability, land characteristics, environmental and regulatory constraints, infrastructure availability, and community context are determined by the choice of project site and can materially impact project performance, cost, schedule, and overall viability. This procedure is designed to systematically evaluate these factors, identify potential fatal flaws, and prioritize the most favorable candidate sites for further development. The process begins with rapid screening-level evaluation, using publicly available data to assess solar resource, land availability and suitability, zoning and land-use compatibility, and exclusion zones such as protected lands or sensitive habitats. Sites that meet the minimum screening criteria advance to a more detailed characterization. Subsequent sections of this report provide guidance for a next-level assessment of the most important technical and environmental parameters, including: 1) Solar resource quality, variability, and uncertainty using multiyear datasets and, where appropriate, on-site measurement campaigns; 2) Meteorological conditions such as wind, temperature, extreme weather events, and soiling impacts; 3) Land characteristics including slope, shading, and geotechnical conditions; and 4) Environmental and regulatory considerations, including permitting processes, endangered species, cultural resources, and visual impacts. The procedure also addresses infrastructure and integration considerations, including: 1) Grid interconnection requirements for CSP power generation projects; 2) Electrical and operational integration for SHIP facilities; 3) Water availability, quality, and permitting constraints, which are particularly critical for CSP in arid regions; and 4) Site access, construction logistics, and availability of workforce and supporting services. Recognizing the importance of social and economic context, the procedure includes evaluation of community engagement factors, such as stakeholder sentiment, proximity to sensitive visual receptors, workforce development opportunities, and local economic incentives. The outputs of these assessments are synthesized in a cost and risk evaluation, translating site characteristics into expected impacts on capital cost, operating cost, schedule, and technical risk. This is complemented by screening-level performance modeling, including 8760 simulations and long-term projections, to quantify expected energy or thermal output, assess variability thereof, and support comparison between candidate sites. Finally, the procedure provides high-level guidance on a structured go/no-go decision framework, categorizing sites based on identified risks and constraints, and outlining a clear path forward to feasibility studies and front-end engineering design for viable projects. By standardizing the site characterization process across both CSP and SHIP applications, this guideline aims to: 1) Improve consistency and transparency in early-stage project evaluation; 2) Reduce development risk and avoid investment in nonviable project sites; 3) Support collaboration between developers, researchers, and public agencies; and 4) Accelerate successful deployment of concentrating solar technologies for both power generation and industrial process heat.

14 SOLAR ENERGY↗
NASA NTRS1980

Three computer codes to read, plot and tabulate operational test-site recorded solar data

Computer programs used to process data that will be used in the evaluation of collector efficiency and solar system performance are described. The program, TAPFIL, reads data from an IBM 360 tape containing information (insolation, flowrates, temperatures, etc.) from 48 operational solar heating and cooling test sites. Two other programs, CHPLOT and WRTCNL, plot and tabulate the data from the direct access, unformatted TAPFIL file. The methodology of the programs, their inputs, and their outputs are described.

Stewart, S. D.↗
DOE OSTI2024

Building a framework to genetically characterize “feather spots” and understand demographic impacts of solar energy sites on migratory bird populations

The lack of data on the impact of utility-scale solar facilities on avian species and populations adds to the cost of siting and operation. As much as 32 percent of the avian biological material (feathers and carcasses) recovered from solar facilities remain unidentified, because they often take the form of “feather spots”. Feather spots are remains of impacted animals that can be separated into two broad categories: 1) those remains that may be visually identified to a species, or 2) those that cannot be visually identified to a species due to degradation from the environment and/or scavenger activity (listed as “unknown”). Even when feather spots can be identified to species, they cannot be visually assigned to particular breeding populations. In some cases, it is unknown whether multiple feather spots represent single or multiple individuals. This project’s objectives were to: 1. Use a developed, genetic-based technique to identify and determine the species, population of origin, and number of individuals found in feather spots recovered from solar facilities. 2. Implement collected data and resulting analyses to develop a publicly accessible web-based decision-making tool that can be used by the solar industry, regulators and other stakeholders to inform siting, mitigation, and conservation management efforts. 3. Establish a not-for-profit fee-for-service center at UCLA to ensure collection and identification of feather spots continue after the project period of performance. During the Project Period, we proposed to establish a pipeline for collecting, transporting, and storing of avian biological material collected at solar facilities and the collection and identification of feather spots to species and individual. We proposed the development of a genetic-based framework that would recover viable DNA from feather spots, amplify this DNA (i.e., make millions of copies of the original DNA), and use it to match the resulting sequences to a national database of known species of birds. The result would be the identification of feathers spots that were previously unidentified, and the incorporation of these samples into a larger database that included all samples recovered from solar facilities. The resulting report (below) details the result of this work and its alignment with proposed activities. We proposed the use of the data collected to assess the comparative risk to specific species or populations of species from solar facilities. For some species, we have already identified genomic markers of specific breeding populations and developed “genoscapes,” maps of unique genetic variation across the full breeding range of a species. We used these (previously and newly developed) genoscapes to probabilistically link a feather spot to the specific breeding populations from which it originated (assignment probabilities range from 75%-100% depending on species and population groups). For those species without genoscapes, we developed a vulnerability and susceptibility estimate that determines the relative local and regional risk to populations that are in geographic proximity to solar facilities, using citizen science data (Breeding Bird Survey (BBS) and eBird). These two feather spot processing pipelines (see Figure 1 below) provide quantitative estimates as to the numbers of individuals from a given population of origin that are affected by solar facilities, and ultimately can reduce costs to the consumer by reducing the industry costs associated with mitigation and siting strategies for future solar energy development.

14 SOLAR ENERGY↗