LABREN - Laboratory of Modeling and Studies on Renewable Energy Resources

The LABREN multidisciplinary laboratory, part of the Impacts, Adaptation and Vulnerability Division (DIIAV), one division of the National Institute for Space Research (INPE), carries out research and teaching activities in the field of meteorology applied to the energy sector, with emphasis on the relationship between energy and climate system, through the employment of satellite data, computer modeling activities and in situ observational data.

Within the field activities, the LABREN installed and maintains the SONDA data collection network that comprises solarimetric stations measuring global solar incident radiation, diffuse, direct normal, PAR, illuminance, solar spectrophotometry and additional meteorological data, as well as wind towers 50 meters high equipped with anemometers and thermometers in two heights, 25 and 50 meters. The SONDA stations are located in the major climate macro-regions of Brazil.

The LABREN maintains the SONDA network website. Qualified data collected by the network stations are available in the website.

Research fields

• Climate and variability of the solar and wind resource.
• Short-term forecast of solar and wind power generation.
• Energy and global environmental changes.
• Observation, characterization and modeling of solar and wind resources.

Infrastructure

The laboratory has facilities in the headquarters building of the DIIAV and in the Gama building, both located in the INPE of São José dos Campos, SP.