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What if all the photovoltaic systems in Australia were seen as a network of solar sensors?
- Collaborative, cross-discipline research would be facilitated
- Theoretical models could be tested for truth against real-world data
- Performance of PV systems could be easily compared and optimised
- Early warnings of system malfunctions would be freely available
- The solar community would have a more coherent and persuasive voice
The data associated with photovoltaic output is currently distributed and lacking in uniformity. Locally defined power delivery arrangements mean that this data is largely inaccessible. While there are political and technical challenges in federating this data the benefits of a local federation have already been demonstrated. The time has come to scale up data collection in order to reap the benefits of a national array. It may demonstrate the value of a global array.
Graph (above) shows last 3 years of output data for postcode 3070 (inner Melbourne)