ASSESSMENT OF SOLAR ENERGY POTENTIAL OF NIGERIA FOR SOLAR POWER GENERATION THROUGH NUMERICAL SOLAR IRRADIANCE MAPPING

Abstract

Any thorough analysis of solar energy applications in the country requires a solar resources map. Many maps have been developed, but they only show distributions presented in colour intensities. Solar irradiance can only be estimated from such maps. Using on the spot experimental data for solar map production does not provide accurate maps because various climatic and environmental conditions such as dust haze and cloud cover affect the amount of solar energy that reaches the ground in various locations in Nigeria. This is particularly true during the harmattan period. Therefore data generated from such methods cannot be used to develop accurate numerical solar maps. Data for such applications should be collected from outer space and over a long time for various locations. The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) provides a resources base for such data. The data used in this study covered 25 years (1994-2018). The average daily global solar irradiance for various longitude-latitude nodes is calculated from such data. With these data available, it is possible to estimate the average daily global solar irradiance for any location provided the longitude and latitude is known. Irradiance values for 300 locations in the country are evaluated from details presented by the maps. To validate the map, experimental irradiance values for selected locations are compared with values extracted from the solar irradiance map. Calculated irradiance values are found to agree satisfactorily with experimental values. The maximum percentage difference between calculated and experimental values is 6.8%. This proved that the solar map developed is a satisfactory provides a satisfactory representation of solar data for the various locations and can be used for other locations where such data does not exist. KEYWORDS: Solar Energy, Solar Maps, Irradiance, Energy Patterns,