NASA Empowers Energy Projects by Providing Global Earth Observation Data
Provides solar data in hourly, daily, monthly, and yearly temporal and long-term averages.
Dates back to 1984.
Supports projects like solar panel sizing, power generation forecasting, and solar thermal systems for buildings.
POWER uses Modern-Era Retrospective analysis for Research and Applications, Version 2 (MERRA-2) data products, which:
Provides meteorological parameters such as temperature, wind, and humidity in hourly, daily, monthly, and yearly temporal and long-term averages.
Dates back to 1981.
Supports efforts such as wind turbine analysis, hydropower studies, and building energy efficiency.
[caption id="attachment_236477" align="aligncenter" width="740"]
Global visualization of surface shortwave downward irradiance annually for 2023 expressed in watts per meter squared. Source: Christopher Higham, NASA POWER[/caption]
The POWER project prides itself on providing accessible pathways to leveraging Earth observation data for its users. Tools such as the Data Access Viewer (DAV) and PaRameter Uncertainty ViEwer (PRUVE) allow users to easily access and compare data. Along with these tools, POWER also offers geospatial services, allowing users to not only visualize POWER data, but also work efficiently with geographic information systems (GIS) applications. In addition, NASA's partnership with Amazon Web Services allows free access to the full POWER data catalog. The POWER DAV is a web application tool that allows direct access to the project's application programming interface (API) and visualization plots. Data from the DAV can be either downloaded or integrated into software and applications for easy and efficient data acquisition. Users can also subset the data by selecting the user community, location, time period, parameters, and file type so they are only acquiring the data they need. Users can also generate integrated reports to support heating and cooling system implementation to assist in building design. HUBER SE, a wastewater company in Germany, accesses POWER data through the DAV to plan and implement drying systems that maximize efficiency. HUBER SE specializes in treating sewage sludge through solar drying, a process sensitive to climate variability. The company uses the POWER DAV to acquire surface shortwave downward irradiance, temperature, and relative humidity to optimally adapt its systems for each site. '[POWER] enables us to develop tailor-made solutions that maximize the efficiency of the systems and at the same time ensure their long-term profitability. This gives us a divisive and competitive advantage on the market,' said Moritz Marschall, a representative from HUBER SE. PRUVE, a new tool being developed by the POWER team, will serve as an online data validation application using statistical analysis and visualization to compare in situ surface site data. Data validation is important to ensure consistency and accuracy. The comparison data will be sourced from the GEWEX program and Global Climate Observing System (GCOS) Baseline Surface Radiation Network (BSRN) for solar data. The meteorological comparison data will be acquired from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). One of POWER's other service offerings is geospatial services, which provides the GIS community friendly formats to integrate data into developing their own tools. The DAV and PRUVE tools are examples of how users can leverage geospatial services in the back end of development. [caption id="attachment_236479" align="aligncenter" width="740"]
Global visualization using POWER's image services showing average wind speed in 2023 at 10 meters above the surface, expressed in meters per second. Source: Christopher Higham, NASA POWER[/caption]
A large focus area of the NASA POWER project is user engagement to capture current and emerging requirements, use cases, and feedback. User driven feedback helps identify new parameters, tools, and areas of support. Through events like the project's annual Global Community Summit, users can engage directly with POWER project leadership and developers to voice their opinions and needs for future improvements to help further their work. For example, users said they wanted better control of parameter searches with enhanced filter features on the POWER website, so the team created the Parameter Manager and Search Tool. Saildrone is a U.S.-based manufacturer of unmanned surface vehicles that are powered by wind and solar energy. The company uses POWER's hourly solar data to estimate the amount of power that will be generated by the solar panels on the drones. The drones collect meteorological and oceanographic data as well as provide maritime domain awareness for the U.S. military. Saildrone has adjusted mission timelines and instrument payloads based on analyses that use POWER data, saving both time and money on objectives. Another company, Alpha 311, uses POWER's wind speed and wind direction parameters to retrofit vertical axis wind turbines to new and existing infrastructure. To date, POWER data has been applied in Alpha 311 project proposals in 68 countries to help a range of organizations from schools and hospitals to commercial manufacturing plants and sports stadiums deploy renewable energy technology around the globe. POWER also supports other types of projects like Produced Water Ecoservices (PWES), based in Colombia. The ability to treat wastewater from oil and gas plants, also known as produced water, onsite saves on transport costs, shortens the water treatment cycle, and reduces risks of environmental spillage. PWES treats produced water from industrial facilities through mechanical evaporation. The process is sensitive to climatological factors, so PWES uses the POWER DAV to acquire meteorological data to return produced water to a clean state. To date, PWES has treated over one million barrels of produced water with the help of POWER data. Recently, the POWER project released new hydrological parameters from NASA's Integrated Multi-satellitE Retrievals for GPM (IMERG) that can be used in research and commercial applications. NASA's IMERG precipitation data provides a higher resolution than the previous MERRA-2 version. Precipitation data has been used in studies to understand the correlation between meteorological factors and water inflow to hydropower plants. The researchers used POWER data in forecasting models to conclude that temperature and precipitation were the greatest factors affecting inflow. Another group studied the inflow for a hydroelectric power plant reservoir using NASA POWER meteorological parameters to establish the precedent at which data parameters should be used in future machine learning models concerning water inflow. NASA POWER hopes to reach new users and support more energy-focused missions. If you would like to learn more about the data tools and services the project offers, please email the POWER project at larc-power-project@mail.nasa.gov. Be on the lookout for information about the virtual 2025 Global Community Summit, which will be held this fall and check out the POWER website for updates and a date to be released soon. is a scientific and technical writer for the NASA POWER project team. Paul Stackhouse Jr., PhD is a senior research scientist at the NASA Langley Research Center in Hampton, Virginia and leads the POWER team. He also leads the NASA Langley Research Center SRB project, and is a science team member of the CERES project and co-leads the FLASHFlux (Fast Longwave and Shortwave radiative Fluxes) working group. Both projects produce radiative fluxes using satellite analysis, and the latter produces low latency estimates of top-of-atmosphere and surface radiation data products from CERES. Both data sets are key inputs to the POWER web suite. Falguni Patadia, PhD is a research physical scientist at the NASA Langley Research Center in Hampton, Virginia and serves as the deputy lead for the POWER project.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
an hour ago
- Yahoo
NASA's X-59 moves under its own power
July 22 (UPI) -- NASA's quest for a quieter supersonic jet passed an early test after its X-59 aircraft was able to taxi at low speed at a manufacturing plant in California. The space agency on Tuesday announced the latest milestone for NASA's X-59 that is part of its Quesst mission to test the possibility of a supersonic aircraft with more muted sonic booms that will allow less noisy flights over populated areas. The X-59 was able to move under its own power during the test that took place last week, taxiing across the runway at the U.S. Air Force Plant 42 in Palmdale, Calif. As the aircraft taxied, engineers and flight crews observed the X-59 to evaluate its steering, braking and other important functions. The test was one of the final hurdles for the X-59 before its first flight, according to the agency. NASA engineers began test-firing the single-engine experimental aircraft at a Lockheed Martin facility last fall to see if its systems are functional. NASA plans to fly the X-59 between residential areas in 2026 and ask residents about the noise it produces while exceeding the speed of sound. If the X-59 works as intended it will produce a soft thud instead of the loud booms associated with sonic aircrafts. The aircraft has no windshield because its pilot can't see over it, as well as delta-shaped wings with a span of 29.5 feet and has a maximum takeoff weight of 32,300 pounds -- lighter than many commercial planes. Following the successful test, NASA engineers will gradually increase the X-59's taxing speed stopping short of where it would take off, according to the agency. Data from the X-59 will be shared with U.S. and international regulators to develop new regulations on noise threshold for commercial supersonic land flights.
Newsweek
an hour ago
- Newsweek
Map Shows Where Millions Can See International Space Station on Thursday
Based on facts, either observed and verified firsthand by the reporter, or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources. Newsweek AI is in beta. Translations may contain inaccuracies—please refer to the original content. Millions of Americans and Canadians will have a chance to see the International Space Station (ISS) on Thursday night as it cuts a path across North America. Why It Matters The ISS orbits Earth and houses astronauts and a research laboratory for experiments in microgravity. The ISS is maintained by NASA, Roscosmos, the European Space Agency, the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency and the Canadian Space Agency. It travels at about 17,500 mph and completes an orbit around Earth every 90 minutes. What To Know At times, the ISS is visible from the U.S. as it orbits Earth. The next chance Americans will have at sighting the space station will be Thursday night as it cuts from Northwest Canada through parts of the Northeastern U.S. in a span of a few minutes. "The International Space Station is visible because it reflects sunlight—the same reason we can see the Moon," a NASA webpage about the ISS says. "However, unlike the Moon, the space station is not bright enough to see during the day. Viewing opportunities can range from one a month to several a week as the light from the Sun reflects off station as it passes overhead at dawn and dusk at the user's preferred location." No equipment will be needed to view the ISS as it passes over the U.S., as it is visible to the naked eye. Millions of Americans outside the ISS' direct path also will have a chance to see it. A map from AccuWeather shows the planned path of the ISS. Shortly after 9:25 p.m. ET, the ISS will travel from Canada into New York, where it will continue its southeastern path for hardly more than a minute before it exits over the Atlantic Ocean. A map from AccuWeather shows where the ISS will be visible on July 24, 2025. A map from AccuWeather shows where the ISS will be visible on July 24, 2025. AccuWeather The timeline is as follows: 9:22-9:25 p.m. ET: The ISS will be traveling southeast over Ontario, Canada. The ISS will be traveling southeast over Ontario, Canada. 9:25-9:26 p.m. ET: The ISS will travel over Northern New York, Southern Vermont, far Southwestern New Hampshire and through Massachusetts to exit over the Atlantic Ocean. The ISS will travel over Northern New York, Southern Vermont, far Southwestern New Hampshire and through Massachusetts to exit over the Atlantic Ocean. 9:27-9:29 p.m. ET: The ISS will continue its path over the Atlantic Ocean. Anyone within the viewing circle will be able to see the space station if weather conditions are right, meaning millions as far south as Georgia up through Maine and Michigan will have a chance at spotting the ISS. The ISS is bright enough that people can spot it even in large cities with light pollution. However, cloudy conditions could disrupt the viewing in some areas. "It looks like there could be some clouds on the western side of that near the Great Lakes, so Wisconsin, the Toronto area," AccuWeather meteorologist Alex DaSilva told Newsweek. "Those areas I'm a little worried there could be some clouds in the way." People further east in Southeastern Ohio, Pennsylvania and Western New York will have the best chance to view the ISS. All ISS viewings occur a few hours before or after sunrise or sunset. The ISS includes six sleeping areas, two bathrooms, a gym and a 360-degree-view bay window, NASA says in a webpage. It orbits earth 16 times in 24 hours, "traveling through 16 sunrises and sunsets." What People Are Saying AccuWeather posted on X on Thursday morning: "The International Space Station [ISS] will fly over the eastern United States and parts of Canada just after sunset on Thursday evening, an easy-to-see event for millions of residents across the region." NASA in a webpage about the ISS: "The acre of solar panels that power the station means sometimes you can look up in the sky at dawn or dusk and see the spaceship flying over your home, even if you live in a big city." What Happens Next NASA suggests people who want a chance to view the ISS when it passes over the U.S. to download Spot the Station, a mobile app that notifies users about potential ISS viewings.
USA Today
2 hours ago
- USA Today
Trump says he wants Elon Musk to 'THRIVE' after threatening his subsidies
Elon Musk's companies have benefited from government contracts, including SpaceX through its relationships with the Pentagon and NASA. WASHINGTON - President Donald Trump says he does not want to ruin billionaire advisor Elon Musk's businesses by taking away federal subsidies after recently threatening the former head of the Department of Government Efficiency. 'Everyone is stating that I will destroy Elon's companies by taking away some, if not all, of the large scale subsidies he receives from the U.S. Government,' Trump wrote in a July 24 Truth Social post. 'This is not so! I want Elon, and all businesses within our Country, to THRIVE, in fact, THRIVE like never before! The better they do, the better the USA does, and that's good for all of us. We are setting records every day, and I want to keep it that way!' Musk's companies have benefited from billions of dollars in U.S. government contracts over the past two decades, including SpaceX through its relationships with the Department of Defense and NASA. In all, Musk and his businesses have received at least $38 billion in government contracts, loans, subsidies and tax credits, often at critical moments, a Washington Post analysis found. Trump's latest remarks come after White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said in a press briefing on July 23 that she does not think the president supports federal agencies contracting with Musk's artificial intelligence company, xAI, which developed the chatbot Grok. xAI recently announced a $200 million contract with the Department of Defense. The two men had a dramatic falling out over Trump's signature tax and domestic policy law, with Musk blasting it as a 'disgusting abomination' that would only add to the growing deficit. In July, Trump threatened to have DOGE review the billions of dollars' worth of contracts that Musk's companies receive. "Elon may get more subsidy than any human being in history, by far, and without subsidies, Elon would probably have to close up shop and head back home to South Africa," Trump wrote in a 12:44 a.m. July 1 post on Truth Social. "No more Rocket launches, Satellites, or Electric Car Production, and our Country would save a FORTUNE. Perhaps we should have DOGE take a good, hard, look at this? BIG MONEY TO BE SAVED!!!" Musk, who was co-leader of DOGE, responded shortly afterward, saying, "I am literally saying CUT IT ALL. Now." Musk had warned Tesla investors on July 23 that U.S. government cuts in support for electric vehicle makers could lead to a "few rough quarters" for the company. Contributing: Reuters, Joey Garrison
