camsRad is a lightweight R client for the CAMS Radiation Service, that provides satellite-based time series of solar irradiation for the actual weather conditions as well as for clear-sky conditions. Satellite-based solar irradiation data have been around roughly as long our modern era satellites. But the price tag has been very high, in the range of several thousand euros per site. This has damped research and development of downstream applications. With CAMS Radiation Service coming online in 2016, this changed as the services are provided under the (not yet fully implemented) European Union stand point that data and services produced with public funding shall be provided on free and open grounds. The service is part of Copernicus, a European Union programme aimed at developing information services based on satellite earth observation and in situ data. All Copernicus information services are free and openly accessible.
This is a companion discussion topic for the original entry at https://ropensci.org/blog/blog/2017/03/21/camsrad