The PAINT database for operational concentrating solar power plant data following FAIR data principles
Nature Energy, vol. 11, pp. 1216–1225
Abstract
Abstract Concentrating solar power tower plants hold significant potential for sustainable energy generation but face challenges related to high operational costs, limited data availability, and slow adoption of novel technologies. To address these barriers, we introduce PAINT, the first FAIR open-access database for operational solar tower plant data. PAINT provides 849 GB of high-resolution operational data collected over multiple years from the Jülich solar tower plant, including heliostat properties, calibration and deflectometry measurements, and fine-grained weather data. Organized using the SpatioTemporal Asset Catalog metadata specification, PAINT supports the development of digital twins, AI-based calibration methods, predictive maintenance and fault detection, and improved solar flux prediction. It also introduces standardized benchmarks to promote reproducibility and fair comparisons. By democratizing access to high-quality concentrating solar power data, PAINT enables broader participation in solar research, accelerates innovation, and lays a foundation for data-driven improvements in the performance and reliability of solar tower power plants.
Authors 14
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Kaleb Phipps corresponding
Karlsruhe Institute of Technology
Affiliation as printed
Helmholtz AI, Karlsruhe, Germany
Scientific Computing Center, Karlsruhe Institute of Technology, Eggenstein-Leopoldshafen, Germany
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Deutsches Zentrum für Luft- und Raumfahrt e. V. (DLR)
Affiliation as printed
Institute of Solar Research, German Aerospace Center, Cologne, Germany
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Karlsruhe Institute of Technology
Affiliation as printed
Helmholtz AI, Karlsruhe, Germany
Scientific Computing Center, Karlsruhe Institute of Technology, Eggenstein-Leopoldshafen, Germany
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Deutsches Zentrum für Luft- und Raumfahrt e. V. (DLR)
Affiliation as printed
Institute of Solar Research, German Aerospace Center, Cologne, Germany
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Deutsches Zentrum für Luft- und Raumfahrt e. V. (DLR)
Affiliation as printed
Institute of Solar Research, German Aerospace Center, Cologne, Germany
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Karlsruhe Institute of Technology · Helmholtz Metadata Collaboration
Affiliation as printed
Helmholtz Metadata Collaboration, Karlsruhe, Germany
Scientific Computing Center, Karlsruhe Institute of Technology, Eggenstein-Leopoldshafen, Germany
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Deutsches Zentrum für Luft- und Raumfahrt e. V. (DLR)
Affiliation as printed
Institute of Solar Research, German Aerospace Center, Cologne, Germany
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Karlsruhe Institute of Technology
Affiliation as printed
Scientific Computing Center, Karlsruhe Institute of Technology, Eggenstein-Leopoldshafen, Germany
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Deutsches Zentrum für Luft- und Raumfahrt e. V. (DLR)
Affiliation as printed
Institute of Solar Research, German Aerospace Center, Cologne, Germany
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Deutsches Zentrum für Luft- und Raumfahrt e. V. (DLR)
Affiliation as printed
Institute of Solar Research, German Aerospace Center, Cologne, Germany
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Karlsruhe Institute of Technology
Affiliation as printed
Scientific Computing Center, Karlsruhe Institute of Technology, Eggenstein-Leopoldshafen, Germany
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Deutsches Zentrum für Luft- und Raumfahrt e. V. (DLR) · RWTH Aachen University
Affiliation as printed
Chair of Solar Technology, RWTH Aachen University, Aachen, Germany
Institute of Solar Research, German Aerospace Center, Cologne, Germany
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Karlsruhe Institute of Technology
Affiliation as printed
Helmholtz AI, Karlsruhe, Germany
Scientific Computing Center, Karlsruhe Institute of Technology, Eggenstein-Leopoldshafen, Germany
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Deutsches Zentrum für Luft- und Raumfahrt e. V. (DLR)
Affiliation as printed
Institute of Solar Research, German Aerospace Center, Cologne, Germany
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