The US Department of Energy (DOE) has launched a program, dubbed Orange Button, to develop data interoperability within the solar industry. According to the DOE, reducing the cost of solar energy through the reduction of so-called “ancillary” costs, related to customer acquisitions, approvals and financial risk management associated with solar projects.
Solar farm – Photo credit: James Moran in CC
The reduction of these transaction costs implies, according to the DOE, a better flow of information among the actors of the solar industry: operators, network operators, local authorities, property developers, investors and financial partners.
This data sharing is now facing a multiplicity of standards and formats.
The aim of program launched by the DOE, with $ 4 million, is to make the data interoperable. The DOE has 24 months to develop the Orange Button standard.
Development of the Open Solar Data Exchange system (oSDX) has been entrusted to the SunSpec Alliance. The aim of this solar energy trade association (70 participants) is to set communication standards “with a view to reducing the cost and complexity of solar systems and increase their attractiveness to investors”.
It will then be up to the kWh Analytics company to develop BabelFish Solar, a piece of software which will translate the original data formats into the new oSDX data format. At the same time, the National Renewable Energy Laboratory DOE will develop tools to digitalise solar data available in printed form.
The Orange Button project is part of the Sunshot initiative, set up by the DOE to develop solar energy in the United States. The objective of this program, launched in 2011, is to reduce the cost of solar technologies by 75% to bring them in line with conventional production methods. The installed capacity of the United States has increased more than tenfold since 2011, while the cost of solar energy has fallen by almost 65%.
The name of the “Orange Button” program is derived the Green Button Porgram, a standard data format and piece of software that allows subscribers of power companies to access their consumption data.
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