Abstract
The global Sustainable Development Goals influence the implementation of energy development strategies worldwide. However, in order to support local stakeholders in sustainable energy development strategies and climate change adaptation plans and the implementation of policies, there is a need to equip local decision makers with tools enabling the assessment of sustainable energy investments. In order to do so, the aim of this study is to create a novel tool for the assessment of solar radiation (SOLIS) in ArcGIS. The SOLIS tool builds on the existing ArcGIS algorithm by including input data conversion and post-processing of the results. This should expand the group of potential users of solar radiation analyses. The self-filtering tool excludes surfaces that are not suitable for solar energy investments due to geometrical reasons. The reduction of the size of the output data is positive for technical reasons (speed of the calculation and occupied storage place) and for cognitive reasons (reduction of the number of objects necessary to analyse by the user). The SOLIS tool limits the requirement for users to insert three-dimensional (3D) models of roofs (with any geometry) and select solar radiation calculation periods. The highlight of this research is to develop the decision support tool for the assessment of solar radiation, which would reduce the requirements for potential users, in order to promote indicator-based assessments among non-Geographical Information Systems (GIS) specialists.
Highlights
Urban development, as seen in the light of the current global climate challenges, has to be remodelled from existing solutions into more environmentally friendly solutions in many aspects.In 2015, over 150 countries agreed on the new 17 ambitious Sustainable Development Goals [1].The seventh goal is to “ensure access to affordable, reliable, sustainable and modern energy for all”, and one of the targets of this goal is to “increase substantially the share of renewable energy in the global energy mix by 2030”
The highlight of this research is to develop the decision support tool for the assessment of solar radiation, which would reduce the requirements for potential users, in order to promote indicator-based assessments among non-Geographical Information Systems (GIS) specialists
In order to support local stakeholders in the processes of (1) sustainable energy development strategies; (2) climate change adaptation plans; and (3) policies implementation [40,41,42], there is a need to equip these local stakeholders with tools that enable the assessment of sustainable energy investments [43]
Summary
As seen in the light of the current global climate challenges, has to be remodelled from existing solutions into more environmentally friendly solutions in many aspects.In 2015, over 150 countries agreed on the new 17 ambitious Sustainable Development Goals [1].The seventh goal is to “ensure access to affordable, reliable, sustainable and modern energy for all”, and one of the targets of this goal is to “increase substantially the share of renewable energy in the global energy mix by 2030”. In 2015, over 150 countries agreed on the new 17 ambitious Sustainable Development Goals [1]. In order to meet the Sustainable Development Goals, countries and cities around the globe have to analyse the existing energy use patterns [2,3], and as a result, identify the most suitable renewable energy resources that can be used in relation to their local potential as effectively as possible [4,5,6]. The topics of the sustainable energy development strategies that are being discussed require an urgent change in practices, and energy efficiency in renewables has to boost both the current knowledge and the economy sectors worldwide
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