SunSource is able to confidently verify its own GHI and meteorological data

As a leading provider of solar-based energy and storage solutions to commercial, industrial and institutional clients, SunSource Energy has a footprint in six countries and nearly 18 Indian states. A globally active solar expert, SunSource has delivered more than 100 projects across the world, collaborating with top local-market professionals to understand gaps in domestic markets and co-engineer innovative solar solutions.

With a focus on energy intensive industries such as steel, pharmaceuticals, IT and textiles, SunSource currently has a portfolio of 400MW+ of solar assets supplying commercial and industrial clients. In line with current best practices, SunSource Energy conducts extensive on-site measurements to monitor project performance across its portfolio.

Through our partnership, Solargis looks to improve data accuracy by providing high-quality one and five-minute granular resource data to SunSource Energy who expect to reach 1GW in solar installations in the next few years, while increasing deployment of new technologies such as solar plus storage and bifacial.

The rapid industrialization of India has resulted in an increase in emissions of aerosols and pollutions. With clouds and aerosols one of the most common causes of solar irradiance attenuation, understanding these is key to reducing performance issues in solar installations.

Clouds block most of the direct radiation, with aerosols affecting the amount as well as the lifetime of clouds. Therefore, accurate knowledge of all these processes is a very complex and challenging task.

Commercial and industrial businesses in India have two key incentives to procure on-site renewable power generation. With 80% of Indian energy production derived from coal, oil and biomass, and fossil fuel prices at record highs, driving down energy costs is key for large businesses. The push for renewables syncs with the wider need to decarbonize as investors are increasingly scrutinizing the environmental commitments of their supply chains.

In line with this increased demand, commercial and industrial customers are a key focus for SunSource Energy. SunSource have therefore sought to serve this market by using the latest best practice from the global solar sector to deliver reliable, affordable solar projects using advanced technologies such as bifacial and storage.

SunSource conducts extensive on-site measurements to monitor project performance across its portfolio. Using validated satellite resource data from Solargis, SunSource is able to confidently verify its own GHI and meteorological data, ensuring accurate inputs during project development and objective evaluations of project performance even with technically complex assets.

Adarsh Das, Co-Founder and CEO, SunSource, said: “Utilising data sets from Solargis has helped us improve our generation forecasting and project monitoring. Solargis has a genuine interest in maintaining the most accurate solar resource data sets. This filters through and can be seen in the close support they offer alongside their service. Solargis’ global offering and wide industry reach means it can advise us on the latest best practices for data, and we have full confidence in the expertise and drive of the team, ensuring that our customers benefit from optimized, reliable projects.”

With greater insight into irradiance levels at its potential sites and existing projects, SunSource Energy is able to confidently bid for contracts, while ensuring that its bifacial and storage assets are designed and operated to the highest standard.

By using Solargis data, SunSource Energy benefits from:

• Lowest uncertainty: Solargis’ average uncertainty is 5% vs. the industry average of 10%.
• Highest resolution: Solargis data is at 250m spatial resolution and sub-hourly temporal resolution.
• All solar factors included: The only database with data on ALL factors affecting solar performance – including albedo, critical for bifacial projects.

Giridaran Srinivasan, Solargis CEO – Americas concludes: “The Indian solar market works at volume. With a skilled labor force and increasing demand, it is about to enter an exciting new phase of growth.

“We are proud to work hand in hand with SunSource to support its roll out of high-quality solar resource data, ensuring that it continues to develop projects its customers can trust, while helping to spearhead the effective deployment of new technology across the market.”