Solar Power Data for Nova Scotia

Interested in playing with some solar data? Download a sample here.

How we obtain the data

The data presented on this website is obtained from several sources:

Solar PV system inverters

An inverter converts DC electricity to AC electricity so that it can be used in a home or business. These days, many inverters also come equipped with data monitoring systems that send data to our database.

Nova Scotia Power meters

For community-owned solar PV systems that are part of the Solar Electricity for Community Buildings program.

Green Power Labs SolarSatData™

A model that predicts output of solar PV systems for today and tomorrow.

How we determine the daily solar report

The savings were estimated as follows:

  1. A set of residential solar power systems was chosen from the database, representative of geographic diversity across the Province.
  2. The average solar electricity production for that set of systems on that day is calculated based on the production data. (average kWh savings per household).
  3. The average kWh savings is multiplied by the current residential electricity rate ($0.16 / kWh) to obtain the average savings per household for that day ($).

The solar day percentage (%) is calculated as follows:

  1. The peak daily electricity production from the selected set of systems is determine for each month by scanning all the years of available data (minimum of 2 years).
  2. The % is calculated as the ratio of yesterday, today or tomorrow’s daily production divided by the historical maximum daily production for that month. 

 

Assumptions for calculating CO2 equivalencies

  • An electricity emissions intensity of 652.6 g CO2e per kWh based on the 2018 values for Nova Scotia Power.

  • The 2017 Canadian average vehicle fuel efficiency of 8.9 L per 100 km (Canada Energy Regulator)

  • The carbon sequestered by a typical red spruce growing in Nova Scotia – approximately 9.94 kg of CO2 per year (Solar Assist).

What we’re doing with the data

The data is being made available for academic research. Some examples include:

  • Analysis of solar production data
  • Comparisons of solar production to modelled production
  • Evaluation of battery storage system sizing

Terminology

PV (photovoltaic)

Photovoltaic solar panels absorb sunlight and transform it into direct current (DC) electricity.

Inverter

A power electronic device that converts DC electricity to usable alternating current (AC) house electricity. Some solar PV systems will have a micro inverter for each solar panel while others will have one larger string inverter to serve all the solar panels.

kW (kilowatt)

This describes the size of the system in DC. In Nova Scotia, a typical residential solar PV system is about 10 kW DC, but may be smaller or larger depending on available roof space.

kWh (kilowatt-hour)

This describes the amount of energy produced by a solar PV system in a period of time, like a day or a month. It is also the way that your utility will bill you for electricity. Two systems with the same kW rating may produce a different amount of kWh’s per year because of orientation, slope or shading.

kWh/kW (kilowatt-hour per kW)

This is a metric to compare the productivity of solar PV systems. It describes the amount of energy produced by a Solar PV system over one year relative to the DC system size. For example, a 10 kW DC system that produces 1,100 kWh/kW per year, would produce 10 kW x 1,100 kWh/kW = 11,000 kWh per year.

 

Research

Nicola Di Matteo (left, SunReport), Dane George (center, NSCC AERLab), Bryan Ellis (right, RESL, Dalhousie University) presenting at the EnergyData Workshop in February 2020

Dr. Wayne Groszko (NSCC AERLab) presenting at the EnergyData Workshop in February 2020

 

Productivity of solar photovoltaics in Halifax

Poster presentation (click here)

Bryan Ellis, Dr. Nathaniel Pearre, Dr. Lukas Swan, Renewable Energy Storage Laboratory, Department of Mechanical Engineering, Dalhousie University

Centralized vs Distributed PV Generation in Halifax, NS

Poster presentation (click here) – energy3: Canada’s Energy Conference, October 2019

Bryan Ellis, Dr. Nathaniel Pearre, Dr. Lukas Swan, Renewable Energy Storage Laboratory, Department of Mechanical Engineering, Dalhousie University

Analysis of Curtailment of Solar Power at a Large Commercial Facility

Powerpoint presentation (click here) – energy3: Canada’s Energy Conference, October 2019

Wayne Groszko, Research Scientist, Applied Energy Laboratory, NSCC

Ramp rate analysis of centralized and distributed PV using generation data

Powerpoint presentation (click here) – 2019 Nova Scotia Solar Summit, December 2019

Bryan Ellis, Renewable Energy Storage Laboratory, Department of Mechanical Engineering, Dalhousie University

Nova Scotia Solar Energy Programs: By The Numbers

Powerpoint presentation (click here) – 4th EnergyData Workshop, February 2020

Wayne Groszko, Research Scientist, Applied Energy Laboratory, NSCC

How is Nova Scotia doing in solar energy development?

Powerpoint presentation (click here) – Smart Energy Event, August 2020

Wayne Groszko, Research Scientist, Applied Energy Laboratory, NSCC

Economic comparison of net-metered solar PV operating within the domestic flat rate and time-of-day (TOD) rate electricity tariff offered by NS Power

Powerpoint Presentation (click here)

Bryan Ellis, Dr. Nathaniel Pearre, Dr. Lukas Swan, Renewable Energy Storage Laboratory, Department of Mechanical Engineering, Dalhousie University

How you can participate

Do you have a solar PV system? If so, you can participate by registering your system with the Community Solar Database at the following link. Depending on the type of inverter you have, your data can be shared, and your system can contribute its data to the website to help us advance solar knowledge!

Resources

 Want to learn more about solar in Nova Scotia? We’ve got you covered!

About This Site

Want to know more about who we are and this project?