Getting Started

To get started with the Solar Forecast Arbiter you’ll first need to sign up for an account. This automatic process immediately grants you access to the Arbiter’s reference data and reference forecasts.

Users who want to access all of the Arbiter’s features will need to create a new Organization or join an existing Organization. This will give you access to the full set of Arbiter features, including:

• Uploading data to the Arbiter for quality checking and validation.
• Sharing data between organizations.
• Running reports to analyze forecast data.
• Participating in competitive forecast trials.

Signing up

A free, no-obligation, no-lawyers-required user account will allow you to explore the reference dataset, and download reference data and report metrics.

New framework users sign up through the Solar Forecast Arbiter dashboard. The signup form is found by following the 'Log in' link on the front page of the dashboard. You will be prompted with an Auth0 login window (Auth0 is a secure authentication service). Click the sign up tab and enter your information. Users will receive an email from Solar Forecast Arbiter to verify their account. Account verification is required before you will be able to access data in the Solar Forecast Arbiter.

Users who want to use the Solar Forecast Arbiter with their own data can create or join an organization.

Organizations

Organizations are groups of users whose permissions and data are managed by the same group of administrators. An organization retains ownership of all data submitted by its members.

Creating an Organization

To create an new organization, send a signed Data Use Agreement to the Solar Forecast Arbiter Administrators at admin@solarforecastarbiter.org. The administrators will create a new organization for you and assign your user account to administer it.

Joining an Organization

Users can join an existing organization by emailing the framework administrators at admin@solarforecastarbiter.org. Framework administrators will verify with the organization’s point of contact that the user is authorized to join the organization. To expedite this process, an organization’s point of contact may initiate a request to add the user to their organization.