Photovoltaics Geographical Information System: Status Report 2025
As the global transition to renewable energy accelerates to combat climate change and energy insecurity, accurate tools for assessing solar potential are more critical than ever. The European Commission’s Joint Research Centre (JRC) Photovoltaic Geographic Information System (PVGIS) has emerged as a cornerstone in this effort, providing open-access, high-resolution data to support photovoltaic (PV) deployment for over two decades. With solar energy now central to achieving net-zero goals, PVGIS’s role in enabling informed decision-making—from urban planning to grid integration—has become indispensable. In 2025, PVGIS recorded over 700 million page views and about 2000 unique daily users, underscoring its global utility. To align with modern PV technologies, version 5.3 introduced updated coefficients for the power performance model, ensuring accuracy for contemporary modules. The beta release of PVGIS 6 is nearing completion, with a new graphical user interface, and offering enhanced support for grid-connected systems, including bifacial and advanced configurations. Concurrent research includes: (1) training machine learning models to downscale ERA5-Land Plus temperature data using 30-meter-resolution terrain altitude; and (2) analysing optimal parameters for integrating Copernicus Digital Surface Models, including built environments, into PVGIS. These advancements reinforce PVGIS’s role in accelerating solar energy deployment across Europe and beyond.
MARTINEZ Ana;
TAYLOR Nigel;
GOUNARI Olympia;
FALANGAS Alexandros;
SZABO Sandor;
ALEXANDRIS Nikolaos;
MERCADO Luis;
2026-02-04
Publications Office of the European Union
JRC145327
978-92-68-37545-7 (online),
1831-9424 (online),
EUR 40640,
OP KJ-01-26-067-EN-N (online),
https://publications.jrc.ec.europa.eu/repository/handle/JRC145327,
10.2760/8197535 (online),
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