PAINT: The First FAIR Database for Concentrating Solar Power Plants

PAINT: The First FAIR Database for Concentrating Solar Power Plants | Research Square window.SnipcartSettings = { analytics: { enabled: false } }; (function() { var accessVector = localStorage.getItem('access_vector') || ''; window.dataLayer = window.dataLayer || []; if (accessVector) { window.dataLayer.push({ user: { profile: { profileInfo: { snid: accessVector } } } }); } })(); (function(w,d,s,l,i){w[l]=w[l]||[];w[l].push({'gtm.start':new Date().getTime(),event:'gtm.js'});var f=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0],j=d.createElement(s),dl=l!='dataLayer'?'&l='+l:'';j.async=true;j.src='https://www.googletagmanager.com/gtm.js?id='+i+dl;f.parentNode.insertBefore(j,f);})(window,document,'script','dataLayer','GTM-K279D39R'); Browse Preprints In Review Journals COVID-19 Preprints AJE Video Bytes Research Tools Research Promotion AJE Professional Editing AJE Rubriq About Preprint Platform In Review Editorial Policies Our Team Advisory Board Help Center Sign In Submit a Preprint Cite Share Download PDF Resource PAINT: The First FAIR Database for Concentrating Solar Power Plants Kaleb Phipps, Mathias Kuhl, Marie Weiel, Marlene Busch, Jan Lewen, and 9 more This is a preprint; it has not been peer reviewed by a journal. https://doi.org/ 10.21203/rs.3.rs-7878357/v1 This work is licensed under a CC BY 4.0 License Status: Under Review Version 1 posted You are reading this latest preprint version Abstract Concentrating solar power tower plants hold significant potential for sustainable energy generation but face challenges related to high operational costs, limited data availability, and slow adoption of novel technologies. To address these barriers, we introduce PAINT, the first FAIR open-access database for operational solar tower plant data. PAINT provides 849 GB of high-resolution operational data collected over multiple years from the Jülich solar tower plant, including heliostat properties, calibration and deflectometry measurements, and fine-grained weather data. Organized using the SpatioTemporal Asset Catalog metadata specification, PAINT supports the development of digital twins, AI-based calibration methods, predictive maintenance and fault detection, and improved solar flux prediction. It also introduces standardized benchmarks to promote reproducibility and fair comparisons. By democratizing access to high-quality concentrating solar power data, PAINT enables broader participation in solar research, accelerates innovation, and lays a foundation for data-driven improvements in the performance and reliability of solar tower power plants. Physical sciences/Energy science and technology/Renewable energy/Solar energy/Solar thermal energy Physical sciences/Mathematics and computing/Computer science Concentrating solar power plant Operational data FAIR data Full Text Additional Declarations There is NO Competing Interest. Supplementary Files Supplementary.pdf Supplementary Material for PAINT: The First FAIR Database for Concentrating Solar Power Plants Cite Share Download PDF Status: Under Review Version 1 posted You are reading this latest preprint version Research Square lets you share your work early, gain feedback from the community, and start making changes to your manuscript prior to peer review in a journal. As a division of Research Square Company, we’re committed to making research communication faster, fairer, and more useful. We do this by developing innovative software and high quality services for the global research community. Our growing team is made up of researchers and industry professionals working together to solve the most critical problems facing scientific publishing. Also discoverable on Platform About Our Team In Review Editorial Policies Advisory Board Help Center Resources Author Services Accessibility API Access RSS feed Manage Cookie Preferences © Research Square 2026 | ISSN 2693-5015 (online) Privacy Policy Terms of Service Do Not Sell My Personal Information {"props":{"pageProps":{"initialData":{"identity":"rs-7878357","acceptedTermsAndConditions":true,"allowDirectSubmit":false,"archivedVersions":[],"articleType":"Resource","associatedPublications":[],"authors":[{"id":533481539,"identity":"7263921d-9675-45cc-b823-70b4fc29ebe2","order_by":0,"name":"Kaleb Phipps","email":"data:image/png;base64,iVBORw0KGgoAAAANSUhEUgAAAZAAAAAyAQMAAABI0h/eAAAABlBMVEX///8AAABVwtN+AAAACXBIWXMAAA7EAAAOxAGVKw4bAAAA6klEQVRIiWNgGAWjYBACCQbmBmYgncAG4n04IAGiDAhoYURoYZxxQEKCeC0gDjPPAQbCWiTbDzY+LmC4k8cn3Xv4s80ZizoG9uZtEvi0SPMkNhvPYHhWzCZzLk065wbQYTzHyvBqkWNIbJPmYTic2CaRY8ac8wGoBcjAr4X/YftvqBbjzxYgLfJv8GuRlkhsY4ZqMZBmADlMgge/FskZD5ulZxg8S2wD+kWy54yEZBtPWrEFPi0S55MPfi6ouJM4f3bv4Q8/jtXx87Mf3ngDnxYIMDgA1MwDYbMRVg4GSFpGwSgYBaNgFKADAPJ4RZD5jWq9AAAAAElFTkSuQmCC","orcid":"https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9197-1739","institution":"Karlsruhe Institute of Technology","correspondingAuthor":true,"prefix":"","firstName":"Kaleb","middleName":"","lastName":"Phipps","suffix":""},{"id":533481540,"identity":"305f4bb0-3433-4ebd-9903-5902b2397864","order_by":1,"name":"Mathias Kuhl","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"German Aerospace Center","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Mathias","middleName":"","lastName":"Kuhl","suffix":""},{"id":533481541,"identity":"1a7a2425-6131-43eb-b4f8-427bc77b647a","order_by":2,"name":"Marie Weiel","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"Karlsruhe Institute of Technology","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Marie","middleName":"","lastName":"Weiel","suffix":""},{"id":533481542,"identity":"b00c2e6e-d558-4a60-aa89-1f89deacf5b1","order_by":3,"name":"Marlene Busch","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"German Aerospace Center","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Marlene","middleName":"","lastName":"Busch","suffix":""},{"id":533481543,"identity":"d9582575-bf2b-4709-991b-783ab411000b","order_by":4,"name":"Jan Lewen","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"German Aerospace Center","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Jan","middleName":"","lastName":"Lewen","suffix":""},{"id":533481544,"identity":"bd5cd274-d322-41ce-a41e-25d6b79f9b1e","order_by":5,"name":"Nicolas Blumenröhr","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"Karlsruhe Institute of Technology","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Nicolas","middleName":"","lastName":"Blumenröhr","suffix":""},{"id":533481545,"identity":"a5eabf0b-f644-43a0-8052-0f1640ab9385","order_by":6,"name":"Daniel Maldonado Quinto","email":"","orcid":"https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2929-8667","institution":"German Aerospace Center","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Daniel","middleName":"Maldonado","lastName":"Quinto","suffix":""},{"id":533481546,"identity":"885fff59-d8de-4a44-b628-bf359ce779aa","order_by":7,"name":"Charlotte Debus","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"Karlsruhe Institute of Technology / Steinbuch Centre for Computing (SCC)","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Charlotte","middleName":"","lastName":"Debus","suffix":""},{"id":533481547,"identity":"19ce99d4-5cff-4a53-a80e-e5c714fcb9b9","order_by":8,"name":"Felix Göhring","email":"","orcid":"https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8514-0453","institution":"German Aerospace Center","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Felix","middleName":"","lastName":"Göhring","suffix":""},{"id":533481548,"identity":"77058e0b-398c-4c41-a3d1-74e6e3455e44","order_by":9,"name":"Oliver Kaufhold","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"German Aerospace Center","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Oliver","middleName":"","lastName":"Kaufhold","suffix":""},{"id":533481549,"identity":"d936e813-3ff3-4e41-a584-950a596bbf64","order_by":10,"name":"Achim Streit","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"Karlsruhe Institute of Technology","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Achim","middleName":"","lastName":"Streit","suffix":""},{"id":533481550,"identity":"3e85fc87-5a4d-4145-b2a4-f7a896302cdc","order_by":11,"name":"Robert Pitz-Paal","email":"","orcid":"https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3542-3391","institution":"German Aerospace Centre","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Robert","middleName":"","lastName":"Pitz-Paal","suffix":""},{"id":533481551,"identity":"a248ac97-6513-493e-98f5-4c5a53e7897e","order_by":12,"name":"Markus Götz","email":"","orcid":"https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2233-1041","institution":"Karlsruhe Institute of Technolgy","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Markus","middleName":"","lastName":"Götz","suffix":""},{"id":533481552,"identity":"d0686d0d-a2a0-454b-a605-bb4a7e2ec2af","order_by":13,"name":"Max Pargmann","email":"","orcid":"https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4705-6285","institution":"German Aerospace Center","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Max","middleName":"","lastName":"Pargmann","suffix":""}],"badges":[],"createdAt":"2025-10-16 13:38:34","currentVersionCode":1,"declarations":"","doi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-7878357/v1","doiUrl":"https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-7878357/v1","draftVersion":[],"editorialEvents":[],"editorialNote":"","failedWorkflow":false,"files":[{"id":94165849,"identity":"3af89349-9a30-422c-970e-51920bc51dea","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2025-10-23 06:24:41","extension":"pdf","order_by":1,"title":"","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"manuscript-pdf","size":5212502,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"Article File","description":"","filename":"Article.pdf","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-7878357/v1_covered_a97862b0-5fb4-4c72-8a6a-ba0ebbe76ecc.pdf"},{"id":94165506,"identity":"73200a47-a490-4aa0-bcd3-65647ef2fb2f","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2025-10-23 06:16:31","extension":"pdf","order_by":1,"title":"","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"supplement","size":8798171,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"Supplementary Material for PAINT: The First FAIR Database for Concentrating Solar Power Plants","description":"","filename":"Supplementary.pdf","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-7878357/v1/cf3d616da4c23f6c6b9929aa.pdf"}],"financialInterests":"There is \u003cb\u003eNO\u003c/b\u003e Competing Interest.","formattedTitle":"PAINT: The First FAIR Database for Concentrating Solar Power Plants","fulltext":[],"fulltextSource":"","fullText":"","funders":[],"hasAdminPriorityOnWorkflow":false,"hasManuscriptDocX":false,"hasOptedInToPreprint":true,"hasPassedJournalQc":"","hasAnyPriority":true,"hideJournal":false,"highlight":"","institution":"","isAcceptedByJournal":true,"isAuthorSuppliedPdf":true,"isDeskRejected":"","isHiddenFromSearch":false,"isInQc":false,"isInWorkflow":false,"isPdf":true,"isPdfUpToDate":true,"isWithdrawnOrRetracted":false,"journal":{"display":true,"email":"[email protected]","identity":"nature-portfolio","isNatureJournal":true,"hasQc":false,"allowDirectSubmit":false,"externalIdentity":"","sideBox":"","snPcode":"","submissionUrl":"","title":"Nature Portfolio","twitterHandle":"","acdcEnabled":false,"dfaEnabled":false,"editorialSystem":"ejp","reportingPortfolio":"","inReviewEnabled":true,"inReviewRevisionsEnabled":false},"keywords":"Concentrating solar power plant, Operational data, FAIR data","lastPublishedDoi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-7878357/v1","lastPublishedDoiUrl":"https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-7878357/v1","license":{"name":"CC BY 4.0","url":"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/"},"manuscriptAbstract":"Concentrating solar power tower plants hold significant potential for sustainable energy generation but face challenges related to high operational costs, limited data availability, and slow adoption of novel technologies. To address these barriers, we introduce PAINT, the first FAIR open-access database for operational solar tower plant data. PAINT provides 849 GB of high-resolution operational data collected over multiple years from the Jülich solar tower plant, including heliostat properties, calibration and deflectometry measurements, and fine-grained weather data. Organized using the SpatioTemporal Asset Catalog metadata specification, PAINT supports the development of digital twins, AI-based calibration methods, predictive maintenance and fault detection, and improved solar flux prediction. It also introduces standardized benchmarks to promote reproducibility and fair comparisons. By democratizing access to high-quality concentrating solar power data, PAINT enables broader participation in solar research, accelerates innovation, and lays a foundation for data-driven improvements in the performance and reliability of solar tower power plants.","manuscriptTitle":"PAINT: The First FAIR Database for Concentrating Solar Power Plants","msid":"","msnumber":"","nonDraftVersions":[{"code":1,"date":"2025-10-23 06:16:26","doi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-7878357/v1","editorialEvents":[],"status":"published","journal":{"display":true,"email":"[email protected]","identity":"nature-energy","isNatureJournal":true,"hasQc":false,"allowDirectSubmit":false,"externalIdentity":"nenergy","sideBox":"Learn more about [Nature Energy](http://www.nature.com/nenergy/)","snPcode":"","submissionUrl":"","title":"Nature Energy","twitterHandle":"","acdcEnabled":true,"dfaEnabled":true,"editorialSystem":"ejp","reportingPortfolio":"Nature Research","inReviewEnabled":true,"inReviewRevisionsEnabled":false}}],"origin":"","ownerIdentity":"1e04baeb-f9dc-4328-9911-70d7e0959ecd","owner":[],"postedDate":"October 23rd, 2025","published":true,"recentEditorialEvents":[],"rejectedJournal":[],"revision":"","amendment":"","status":"under-review","subjectAreas":[{"id":56720122,"name":"Physical sciences/Energy science and technology/Renewable energy/Solar energy/Solar thermal energy"},{"id":56720123,"name":"Physical sciences/Mathematics and computing/Computer science"}],"tags":[],"updatedAt":"2026-04-20T11:12:52+00:00","versionOfRecord":[],"versionCreatedAt":"2025-10-23 06:16:26","video":"","vorDoi":"","vorDoiUrl":"","workflowStages":[]},"version":"v1","identity":"rs-7878357","journalConfig":"researchsquare"},"__N_SSP":true},"page":"/article/[identity]/[[...version]]","query":{"redirect":"/article/rs-7878357","identity":"rs-7878357","version":["v1"]},"buildId":"8U1c8b4HqxoKbykW_rLl7","isFallback":false,"isExperimentalCompile":false,"dynamicIds":[84888],"gssp":true,"scriptLoader":[]}