specification: API Commons Rate Limits
specificationVersion: '0.1'
schema: https://raw.githubusercontent.com/api-evangelist/interface-research/main/schema/api-commons.yml#/$defs/RateLimits
provider: Solcast
providerId: solcast
created: '2026-05-04'
# Provenance stamped 2026-08-11: this artifact was written by the API Evangelist
# bulk sweep dated 2026-05-04, not harvested from the provider. See roadmap#35.
method: generated
modified: '2026-06-13'
tags:
  - Solar
  - Energy
  - Forecasting
  - Irradiance
  - Weather
  - Renewable Energy
  - PV Power
  - Rate Limiting
  - Quotas
  - Throttling
description: >
  Rate limit definitions for the Solcast API based on published provider documentation.
  Solcast enforces rate limits by product type and active plan. Requests exceeding the
  defined rate limit are rejected with HTTP 429 Too Many Requests. The free hobbyist account
  is limited to 10 API requests per day. Commercial plans include limits determined by the
  subscribed product tier (Starter/Pro/Max). High-volume requirements may qualify for
  increased limits on a case-by-case basis. Rate limits can be checked in the Solcast API
  Toolkit at https://toolkit.solcast.com.au/. Source: https://docs.solcast.com.au/
headers:
  retryAfter: Retry-After
responseCodes:
  throttled: 429
  quotaExceeded: 429
  serviceUnavailable: 503
limits:
  - tier: free
    name: Free / Hobbyist Daily Request Limit
    scope: api-key
    metric: requests_per_day
    limit: 10
    timeFrame: day
    applies:
      - Solcast API — All Endpoints
    notes: >
      Free hobbyist accounts are limited to 10 API requests per day across live and forecast
      endpoints at user-defined locations. Data granularity is limited to 30 and 60 minutes,
      and forecasts update every 6 hours. Up to 15 Historic Time Series requests (site-months)
      are available on initial registration. Unlimited requests are permitted at unmetered
      test locations.
  - tier: free
    name: Free — Historic Time Series Lifetime Quota
    scope: api-key
    metric: site_months
    limit: 15
    timeFrame: lifetime
    applies:
      - Solcast API — Historic Time Series Endpoint
    notes: >
      New accounts receive 15 free historic time series requests measured in site-months.
      Each request for one location covering one month of historic data counts as one site-month.
  - tier: starter
    name: Starter — Update Frequency Constraint
    scope: api-key
    metric: update_frequency_hours
    limit: 6
    timeFrame: hour
    applies:
      - Solcast API — Live Data
      - Solcast API — Forecast Data
      - Solcast API — Grid Aggregations
    notes: >
      Starter-tier data updates every 6 hours. Time granularity is limited to 30 and 60 minutes.
      Rate limits are product-specific; consult the Solcast API Toolkit for your active limit.
  - tier: pro
    name: Pro — Update Frequency Constraint
    scope: api-key
    metric: update_frequency_minutes
    limit: 15
    timeFrame: minute
    applies:
      - Solcast API — Live Data
      - Solcast API — Forecast Data
      - Solcast API — Grid Aggregations
    notes: >
      Pro-tier data updates every 15 minutes. Time granularity is 5, 10, 15, 20, 30, and 60
      minutes. Rate limits are product-specific; consult the Solcast API Toolkit.
  - tier: max
    name: Max — Update Frequency Constraint
    scope: api-key
    metric: update_frequency_minutes
    limit: 5
    timeFrame: minute
    applies:
      - Solcast API — Live Data
      - Solcast API — Forecast Data
      - Solcast API — Grid Aggregations
    notes: >
      Max-tier data updates every 5 minutes. Time granularity is 5, 10, 15, 20, 30, and 60
      minutes. Highest data freshness available. Rate limits are product-specific; consult
      the Solcast API Toolkit. High-volume users may request increased limits.
  - tier: custom
    name: Custom / Enterprise — Negotiated Limit
    scope: contract
    metric: requests_per_day
    limit: -1
    timeFrame: day
    applies:
      - Solcast API — All Endpoints
    notes: >
      Enterprise and custom plans have negotiated rate limits determined by use case and
      contracted data volume. Solcast may grant increased limits for high-volume requirements.
policies:
  - name: Rate Limit Enforcement
    description: >
      Rate limits are enforced per API key by product type. Exceeding the limit returns HTTP
      429 Too Many Requests. The enforced limit for each account can be reviewed in the
      Solcast API Toolkit at https://toolkit.solcast.com.au/.
  - name: Retry Behavior
    description: >
      Clients receiving HTTP 429 should honor the Retry-After header when present and implement
      exponential backoff. Solcast recommends caching responses where possible to reduce
      unnecessary request volume.
  - name: Hobbyist Deprecation
    description: >
      The measurement (hobbyist) endpoint for submitting measurements was fully deprecated as of
      February 2025. Existing integrations retain backward compatibility but no new hobbyist
      measurement submissions are accepted.
  - name: Unmetered Test Locations
    description: >
      All plan tiers (including free) can make unlimited requests against Solcast-designated
      unmetered test locations without consuming the rate limit quota. These locations are
      intended for integration testing and development.
  - name: Increased Limits
    description: >
      Organizations with very high data volume requirements may request an increased rate limit
      from Solcast, subject to approval based on their specific use case.
maintainers:
  - FN: Kin Lane
    email: kin@apievangelist.com