What is the Solar Irradiance methodology?

The Solar Irradiance methodology is an automated system used to calculate large-scale generation certificate (LGC) entitlement for eligible power stations of over 100 kilowatts and under one megawatt that participate in the Large-scale Renewable Energy Target scheme.

What are the benefits of the methodology?

The Solar Irradiance methodology provides several benefits for solar power stations:

• No more manual data entry - the data-driven approach frees nominated persons from having to manually enter generation data into the REC Registry and submit LGC claims for assessment. The reduced administrative burden will save users over 30 minutes per solar power station every month.
• Faster processing times - improved accuracy and efficiency will reduce the turnaround time for processing participating solar power stations LGC claims.
• Simpler Regulator dealings - high integrity in the methodology will reduce the need for the agency follow up for additional information.

How does the Solar Irradiance methodology work?

Under the Solar Irradiance methodology, the Clean Energy Regulator (CER) uses automation to calculate the eligible electricity for participating solar power stations and credit nominated persons’ REC Registry account each month with LGCs.

Eligible electricity is calculated by using the CER’s generic irradiance model entered with each solar power station’s:

• hardware specifications
• location
• solar panel azimuth and tilt
• site specific, real time, solar irradiance and air temperature data sourced from the Bureau of Meteorology.

The solar power station will then be credited with one LGC per megawatt hour of eligible electricity. Once credited with LGCs, nominated persons are required to pay the LGC registration fee to access their LGC entitlement through the REC Registry.

Eligibility

To find out if you are eligible, please see Solar Irradiance methodology – eligibility and opting in.