Solar resources for concentrating solar power (CSP) systems

Abstract

Abstract Direct sunlight or beam irradiance is the key resource for any concentrating solar system. Beam irradiance has a significantly higher variability in space and time in comparison to global irradiance, and its measurement requires higher accuracy and attention. Therefore, the uncertainty of beam irradiance is higher and solar resources must be measured with great care. In order to get realistic long-term values, satellite-derived values are taken into account in addition to ground measurements to mitigate the high interannual variability. The short-term variability of beam irradiance in terms of fluctuations should be properly represented as CSP systems are sensitive to transient conditions.