A detailed estimation of the expected yield from photovoltaic systems requires not only broadband solar irradiance but as well its spectral distribution. The SOLIS method to calculate spectrally resolved irradiance from satellite data is presented here. It is evaluated in two ways: using radiative transfer calculations and measurements of spectrally resolved global horizontal, global tilted and direct normal irradiance. The applicability of the SOLIS spectral irradiance to simulate the spectral effect for different photovoltaic materials is tested by calculating the spectral mismatch and the weighted irradiance at three sites using two different inputs: satellite-derived and measured irradiance. The results are compared to measurements of the short circuit current for various photovoltaic materials. Spectral measurements result in a spectral effect on the yield in the range of 2-6% for amorphous silicon and 1-4% for polycrystalline silicon which is reproduced by the SOLIS method. The differences between various sites under investigation due to weather conditions and inclination of the measurements are by tendency well described by the satellite-derived spectral irradiance with SOLIS. However, the results differ from the results using measurements of the short circuit current which are superimposed by other effects. (C) 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.