Published at Nature Energy – The PAINT database for operational concentrating solar power plant data following FAIR data principles

<p><strong><a href="https://www.solarpaces.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/PAINT.png"><img alt="" class="alignnone size-full wp-image-31341" height="690" src="https://www.solarpaces.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/PAINT.png" width="750" /></a><br />
Abstract:</strong><br />
Integrating renewable energy is critical for maintaining grid stability while striving towards global climate goals. Concentrating solar power tower plants offer a promising solution but their competitiveness is currently hindered by high operational costs, limited data availability and slow adoption of emerging technologies. To address these barriers, here we introduce PAINT, a FAIR (findable, accessible, interoperable and reusable) open-access database for operational solar tower plant data. PAINT provides 849 GB of high-resolution data collected over multiple years from the Jülich solar tower plant, including heliostat properties, calibration and deflectometry measurements and fine-grained weather data. The database is organized using the SpatioTemporal Asset Catalog metadata specification and supports the development of digital twins, artificial intelligence-based calibration methods, predictive maintenance and improved solar flux prediction. We also introduce standardized benchmarks to promote reproducibility and fair comparisons. Providing access to high-quality data, PAINT enables broader participation in solar research, accelerates innovation and facilitates data-driven solutions in solar tower power plant research.</p>
<p><strong><em>Phipps, K., Kuhl, M., Weiel, M.</em> <i>et al.</i> The PAINT database for operational concentrating solar power plant data following FAIR data principles. <i>Nat Energy</i> (2026). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41560-026-02070-1</strong></p>
<p>The post <a href="https://www.solarpaces.org/published-at-nature-energy-the-paint-database-for-operational-concentrating-solar-power-plant-data-following-fair-data-principles/">Published at Nature Energy &#8211; The PAINT database for operational concentrating solar power plant data following FAIR data principles</a> appeared first on <a href="https://www.solarpaces.org">SolarPACES</a>.</p>