Bring Solar Irradiance
to VS Code Copilot
Learn how to connect NREL Solar Resource to VS Code Copilot and start using 2 AI agent tools in minutes. Fully managed, enterprise secure, and ready to use without writing a single line of code.
GDPR Free for SubscribersCompatible with every major AI agent and IDE
Gemini
What is the NREL Solar Resource MCP Server?
Connect your AI agent to the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) Solar Resource API to analyze solar potential and access historical radiation data through natural conversation.
What you can do
- Solar Irradiance — Retrieve average solar irradiance data including Direct Normal Irradiance (DNI), Global Horizontal Irradiance (GHI), and Tilt at Latitude for specific coordinates.
- NSRDB Queries — Search the National Solar Radiation Database for the nearest datasets based on latitude/longitude, address, or Well-Known Text (WKT) geometry.
- Data Sourcing — Identify specific satellite or station-based datasets for renewable energy research and site assessment.
How it works
- Subscribe to this server
- Enter your NREL API Key
- Start querying solar data from Claude, Cursor, or any MCP-compatible client
Who is this for?
- Energy Analysts — quickly assess the solar potential of specific geographic locations for project feasibility.
- Researchers — locate relevant NSRDB datasets for climate and energy studies without manual API calls.
- Engineers — retrieve precise irradiance metrics for solar installation planning directly in your workflow.
Built-in capabilities (2)
Get average solar irradiance data for a location
Query nearest NSRDB datasets for a location
Why VS Code Copilot?
GitHub Copilot Agent mode brings NREL Solar Resource data directly into your VS Code workflow. With a project-scoped config, the entire team shares access to 2 tools. Copilot queries live data, generates typed code, and writes tests from actual API responses, all without leaving the editor.
- —
VS Code is used by over 70% of developers. adding MCP tools to Copilot means your team can leverage external data without leaving their primary editor
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Project-scoped MCP configs (
.vscode/mcp.json) let you commit server configurations to your repository, ensuring the entire team shares the same tool access - —
Copilot's Agent mode integrates MCP tools seamlessly with file editing, terminal commands, and workspace search in a single agentic loop
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GitHub's enterprise compliance and audit features extend to MCP tool usage, providing visibility into how AI interacts with external services
NREL Solar Resource in VS Code Copilot
NREL Solar Resource and 4,000+ other MCP servers. One platform. One governance layer.
Teams that connect NREL Solar Resource to VS Code Copilot through Vinkius don't need to source, host, or maintain individual MCP servers. Every tool call runs inside a hardened runtime with credential isolation, DLP, and a signed audit chain.
Raw MCP | Vinkius | |
|---|---|---|
| Server catalog | Find and host yourself | 4,000+ managed |
| Infrastructure | Self-hosted | Sandboxed V8 isolates |
| Credential handling | Plaintext in config | Vault + runtime injection |
| Data loss prevention | None | Configurable DLP policies |
| Kill switch | None | Global instant shutdown |
| Financial circuit breakers | None | Per-server limits + alerts |
| Audit trail | None | Ed25519 signed logs |
| SIEM log streaming | None | Splunk, Datadog, Webhook |
| Honeytokens | None | Canary alerts on leak |
| Custom domains | Not applicable | DNS challenge verified |
| GDPR compliance | Manual effort | Automated purge + export |
Why teams choose Vinkius for NREL Solar Resource in VS Code Copilot
The NREL Solar Resource MCP Server runs on Vinkius-managed infrastructure inside AWS — a purpose-built runtime with per-request V8 isolates, Ed25519 signed audit chains, and sub-40ms cold starts. All 2 tools execute in hardened sandboxes optimized for native MCP execution.
Your AI agents in VS Code Copilot only access the data you authorize, with DLP that blocks sensitive information from ever reaching the model, kill switch for instant shutdown, and up to 60% token savings. Enterprise-grade infrastructure, zero maintenance.
* Every MCP server runs on Vinkius-managed infrastructure inside AWS - a purpose-built runtime with per-request V8 isolates, Ed25519 signed audit chains, and sub-40ms cold starts optimized for native MCP execution. See our infrastructure
How Vinkius secures
NREL Solar Resource for VS Code Copilot
Every tool call from VS Code Copilot to the NREL Solar Resource MCP Server is protected by DLP redaction, cryptographic audit chains, V8 sandbox isolation, kill switch, and financial circuit breakers.
Frequently asked questions
How do I get solar irradiance for a specific coordinate?
Use the get_solar_resource tool by providing the latitude and longitude. The agent will return average DNI, GHI, and Tilt at Latitude data for that location.
Can I search for solar data using a physical address instead of coordinates?
Yes! The query_nsrdb_data tool allows you to provide an address string. The system will locate the nearest NSRDB datasets associated with that address.
What types of data sources can I filter by in the NSRDB?
When using query_nsrdb_data, you can use the type parameter to filter results by 'satellite' or 'station' data sources.
Which VS Code version supports MCP?
MCP support requires VS Code 1.99 or later with the GitHub Copilot extension. Ensure both are updated to the latest version. Older versions of Copilot may not expose the Agent mode toggle.
How do I switch to Agent mode?
Open the Copilot Chat panel and look for two mode options: "Ask" and "Agent". Click "Agent" to enable autonomous tool calling. In Ask mode, Copilot provides conversational answers but cannot invoke MCP tools.
Can I restrict which MCP tools Copilot can access?
Yes. VS Code shows a tool consent dialog before any MCP tool is invoked for the first time. You can also configure tool access policies at the organization level through GitHub Copilot settings.
Does MCP work in VS Code Remote or Codespaces?
Yes. MCP servers configured via .vscode/mcp.json work in Remote SSH, WSL, and GitHub Codespaces environments. The MCP connection is established from the remote host, so ensure the server URL is accessible from that environment.
MCP tools not available
Ensure you are in Agent mode in Copilot Chat. MCP tools only appear in Agent mode.
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