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Solcast is a data and forecasting platform for the renewable energy industry. Its core offerings include irradiance, wind, and weather data APIs, as well as forecasting models for solar power, wind power, markets, portfolios, and grid output. It covers historical time series, typical meteorological year data, real-time data, and forecasts up to 14 days ahead, with a stated update frequency of every 5 minutes. The platform emphasizes use cases such as bank-grade resource assessment, asset performance modeling, operational forecasting, and grid management.
From a developer tooling perspective, Solcast’s main value is that it lets teams embed energy meteorological data into business systems via API, Web Download, and direct delivery. The site explicitly supports JSON and CSV, and provides API Documentation, SDKs, a Knowledge Base, and a Changelog. At the model level, it includes Rooftop PV, Advanced PV, Premium PV, Wind, as well as market, portfolio, and grid aggregation models. Advanced PV can be self-configured via API, while Premium PV is trained and maintained by the Solcast team based on user production data, making it suitable for scenarios where forecast accuracy has direct financial impact.
Pricing is not transparent, and most products require users to Request a quote. The site offers an API trial: up to 10 Rooftop PV Power Forecast Model requests for selected locations, unlimited Advanced PV Power Model requests for locations not metered by Solcast, and the option to contact the team for historical forecasts or a limited Premium PV trial. Payment methods are not disclosed. For enterprise users, this quote-based model can fit complex requirements, but for individual developers or early-stage product validation, budget predictability is relatively weak.
The advantages are its strong vertical focus, coverage from historical data dating back to 2007 through to 14-day forecasts, and integration with ecosystems such as DNV Green Data Products, SolarFarmer, and Solar Resource Compass, making it well suited to resource assessment and operational-grade forecasting. The site also presents validation, research publications, and competitor comparisons, and its documentation entry points are fairly complete. The drawbacks are that it does not indicate open-source or self-hosting capabilities, and appears to be primarily a commercial cloud API/platform. Advanced models also require substantial site data; for example, Premium PV requires at least 6 months of production data, with 1 year recommended.
Solcast is suitable for solar and wind developers, asset operators, power trading and dispatch teams, grid companies, and software teams that need to embed renewable energy forecasting into their products. It is not the best fit for ordinary weather apps or low-cost general-purpose weather data needs. The source content does not provide information on network accessibility from mainland China, payment methods, or local alternatives, so China access should be considered unknown. Teams in China should test API latency and stability, verify contract and payment workflows, and evaluate general weather APIs or local meteorological/renewable energy data providers as alternatives before procurement.
⚠ This review is compiled from public sources and does not constitute a purchase recommendation. Verify all facts on the vendor's official site. Verify on solcast.com official site.
solcast.com is an Australia API & Data provider. TG4G tracks its product information, an overall rating of 8.0/10, and a China-accessibility score of Workable. Click "Visit Official Site" to reach solcast.com directly.