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Getting started with Solcast TMY data access and retrieval

There are different ways to access your TMY historical data. Here’s a step-by-step guide to help you!

How do I access the Solcast TMY API? What probability scenarios does the historical data API provide?

Step 1: Select Your Access Level

First off, you need to choose which plan is right for you. We list these options on our pricing page and you will need to select a plan when you make your first API request from your Solcast API Toolkit.

To determine the right plan for you, consider the number of TMY P50 files you need per month. Review how you can compute for the number of requests required here.

We offer all commercial users access to our 'Free' tier, which includes 2x TMY API requests per month (1 request = 1 TMY file). If you need more than 2x requests per month, you'll need to upgrade to one of our paid plans.

Step 2: Choose Your Access Method

There are two options for retrieving TMY data from the Solcast API.

Option 1: Use the Solcast API Toolkit to make the API request.

Simply enter the location of interest to start the API request.

Make sure that you select the correct file format and all of the parameters you'll want to appear in your TMY file.

You'll also have the option to specify your preferred timezone for the timestamps.

This option uses a web interface (API Toolkit) to make a request to our historical API. It will show you the number of remaining requests in your account before you submit a new request. In the event that you have consumed all requests within the month, you’ll have to wait for another month to get access to data.

Option 2: Directly connect with the Solcast historical data API.

To proceed , you'll need basic API skills, including the ability to make a GET request.

The main slug of the GET request will be:

GET 'https://api.solcast.com.au/tmy_hourly?latitude=-33.856784&longitude=151.215297'

This includes the GET request, URL for the API and the location information (latitude and longitude). The API is designed to be provided additional information, including the file format (e.g. JSON):

GET 'https://api.solcast.com.au/tmy_hourly?latitude=-33.856784&longitude=151.215297&format=json'

You can also include the output parameters being requested:

GET 'https://api.solcast.com.au/tmy_hourly?latitude=-33.856784&longitude=151.215297&format=json&output_parameters=air_temp,azimuth,cloud_opacity,dewpoint,ghi,dhi,dni,ebh,precip_water,relative_humidity,snow_depth,sfc_pressure,wind_direction_10m,wind_speed_10m,albedo_daily,zenith'

And then finally, you can specify the timezone, as well as additional URL parameters such as the array type, array tilt, etc.

GET 'https://api.solcast.com.au/tmy_hourly?latitude=-33.856784&longitude=151.215297&format=json&output_parameters=air_temp,azimuth,cloud_opacity,dewpoint,ghi,dhi,dni,ebh,precip_water,relative_humidity,snow_depth,sfc_pressure,wind_direction_10m,wind_speed_10m,albedo_daily,zenith&timezone=longitudinal&array_type=fixed'

Further information can be found on our API specification document here.

• Getting started with Solcast TMY data access and retrieval
• Step 1: Select Your Access Level
• Step 2: Choose Your Access Method
• Option 1: Use the Solcast API Toolkit to make the API request.
• Option 2: Directly connect with the Solcast historical data API.