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Solar energy generating systems are critical components of our expanding energy infrastructure, yet available datasets remain incomplete or not publicly available–particularly at the sub-array level. Combining the best open access datasets in the US with image analysis on freely available remotely-sensed imagery, we present the Ground-Mounted Solar Energy in the United States (GM-SEUS) dataset, a harmonized, open access geospatial and temporal repository of solar energy arrays and panel-rows. GM-SEUS v1.0 includes over 15,000 commercial- and utility-scale ground-mounted solar photovoltaic and concentrating solar energy arrays (186 GWDC) covering 2,950 km2 and includes 2.92 million unique solar panel-rows (466 km2). We use these newly compiled and delineated solar arrays and panel-rows to harmonize and independently estimate value-added attributes to existing datasets including installation year, azimuth, mount technology, panel-row area and dimensions, inter-row spacing, ground cover ratio, tilt, and installed capacity. By harmonizing and estimating attributes of the distributed US solar energy landscape, GM-SEUS supports diverse applications in renewable energy modeling, ecosystem service assessment, and infrastructure planning.
Stid et al. (Mon,) studied this question.