Assessment Of Solar Energy Potential Research Articles

ANALYSIS OF USE CASES TOWARDS THE EVOLUTION OF EUROPE’S CONTRIBUTION TO GEOSS

Abstract. The European Commission (EC), being the co-lead of the European Regional Group on Earth Observations (EuroGEO), is currently outlining an ecosystem that will interconnect European technologies, digital infrastructures and data and enable the implementation of policy-relevant use cases using shared standards. This ecosystem will in turn strengthen Europe’s contribution to GEOSS, which is the Global Earth Observation System of Systems. To evaluate and demonstrate the potential of this ecosystem, prioritization of use cases is necessary. This work presents a methodology for this prioritization, taking into consideration policy relevance, data and digital infrastructures and adherence to European approaches, principles and values. This methodology can also be used for identifying noteworthy research projects in the Earth observation (EO) domain that possess policy relevance and have the potential to be transformed into sustained and operational services beyond the funding period, focusing on research projects funded by Horizon 2020 (H2020) and Horizon Europe EU Framework Programmes for Research and Innovation. We applied this methodology to an H2020 project named “EuroGEO Showcases: Applications Powered by Europe (e-shape)”, composed of 37 pilots, and here we present the results. This process led to the identification of a priority pilot on solar energy potential assessment in urban areas, for which EC Knowledge Centre on Earth Observation (KCEO) will participate in co-design activities with ARMINES, the leader of this pilot. We finally present the pilot shortly and elaborate on the next steps.

Assessment of solar energy potential in China using an ensemble of photovoltaic power models

Development of solar energy is one of the key solutions towards carbon neutrality in China. The output of solar energy is dependent on weather conditions and shows distinct spatiotemporal characteristics. Previous studies have explored the photovoltaic (PV) power potential in China but with single models and low-resolution radiation data. Here, we estimated the PV power potential in China for 2016–2019 using an ensemble of 11 PV models based on hourly solar radiation at the resolution of 5 km retrieved by the Himawari-8 geostationary satellite. On the national scale, the ensemble method revealed an annual average PV power potential of 242.79 kWh m−2 with the maximum in the west (especially the Tibetan Plateau) and the minimum in the southeast (especially the Sichuan Basin). The multi-model approach shows inter-model spreads of 6 %–7 % distributed uniformly in China, suggesting a robust spatial pattern predicted by these models. The seasonal variation in general shows the largest PV power generation in summer months except for Tibetan Plateau, where the peak value appears in spring because the high cloud coverage dampens the regional solar radiation in summer. On the national scale, the deseasonalized PV power potential shows a high correlation with cloud coverage (R2 = 0.71, p < 0.01) but a low correlation with aerosol optical depth (R2 = 0.08, p < 0.05). Sensitivity experiments show that national PV power potential increases by 0.55 % per 1 W m−2 increase of radiation and 0.79 % per 1 m s−1 increase of wind speed, but decreases by 0.46 % per 1 °C increase of air temperature. These sensitivities provide a solid foundation for the future projection of PV power potential in China under climate change.

Solar energy potential assessment for electricity generation on the south-eastern coast of Iran

Among the types of renewable energy, solar energy has received more attention due to its ability to convert directly into electricity and heat, its ease of use, its possibility of storage, and its endlessness, so in recent decades, a lot of research has been done on solar energy systems in the world and in Iran. Considering Iran's potential in the field of solar energy and the country's need for this type of energy, it is necessary to locate and identify suitable sites for the use of solar energy. In this research, the potential of generating power from solar energy on the ocean coasts of south-eastern Iran has been investigated. The geographical data of the solar radiation map of Iran was used to estimate the power of electrical energy from spatial limiting criteria for the feasibility of installing photovoltaic panels at the power plant scale. Finally, the total power of electricity that can be extracted from suitable places in the region was calculated; results showed that 37.5% of the Makran area is exploitable as solar farms. With a conversion efficiency of 15% and an area factor of 70%, annual electricity production for the exploitable area is roughly 17200 GWh, which can be a driving force for the industrial, economic and social development of Makran region.

Assessment of the Gross, Technical and Economic Potential of Region’s Solar Energy for Photovoltaic Energetics

A great number of factors determining the development of photovoltaics are associated with the assessment of possible volumes of solar energy use in correlation with the technical and economic characteristics of photovoltaic equipment. An appropriate assessment of solar energy potential that applies universally to any subsequent use option still remains a crucial task. This work is devoted to the assessment and analysis of the gross, technical and economic potentials of solar energy for photovoltaics. The smart analysis includes the basic program working in the context of connection to databases and to the programs used for determining required initial data or, as a limited option, in the context of full or partial initial data input by the user. Therefore, optimally, a smart network is formed, which for the purposes of obtaining the values of potentials, uses the most up-to-date values of initial data and other required information. This work sets out the tried and tested assessment program for the potentials of solar energy available in large and medium areas. The proposed approach to the analysis of solar energy potential in a region makes it possible to secure a high degree of assessment reliability which can be used for more detailed calculations, including the potentials analysis for a specific point on the ground or a specific type of PV system.

Software-based solar energy potential assessment for an industrial facility: a case study from Aegean Region of Turkey

Solar energy is considered as one of the clean and sustainable energy sources. As known, big portion of the energy demand in industrial processes are generally met by fossil energy sources. Utilizing renewable and sustainable energy technologies in industrial facilities can decrease negative environmental effects. In this study, applicability of a rooftop solar energy generation system in an industrial building has been analyzed. In the simulation process, PvSOL software has been employed. Considering available areas on the roof of the facility, solar electrical energy generation system with installed power of 573.75 kWp was planned and simulated. Moreover, economic analysis results of the proposed rooftop solar energy system were presented within the scope of this research. According to the economic analysis outcomes, payback period of the proposed rooftop energy system was achieved less than 4 years.

Solar photovoltaic potential and diffusion assessment for Pakistan

AbstractIn Pakistan, around 58% of current electricity is generated from fossil fuels and only 2.4% is generated using renewable energy (RE) resources even though country is blessed with enormous RE potential. Among other RE resources, Pakistan's geographical location offers high solar energy potential, which implies that actual potential assessment should be undertaken. This study, as such, undertakes a comprehensive assessment of solar energy potential and prospects of solar photovoltaic (PV) systems for both off‐grid and grid‐connected systems. This study also estimates the future available capacity of rooftop and rural off‐grid solar PV capacity. Three different types of solar PV modules of the same size, that is, thin‐film, premium, and standard were modeled to compare energy outputs. NREL's System Advisor Model (SAM) is used to estimate the geographical and technical potential of solar PV considering updated data and geographical information. SAM results suggest that an average of 4.5 kWh/kWp/day is obtained from an installed capacity of 1 KWp. The logistic modeling equations are further used to forecast the solar PV penetration over a period until 2090. The research investigation concludes that 2.8 × 106 GWh of electricity can be generated annually in Pakistan. The estimated results prove that solar PV has the potential to meet the present as well as future energy needs of Pakistan.

Classification of the Energy Production Potential of Water Lens Solar Concentrators Using Machine Learning

Assessing the potential of renewable energy sources for buildings in neighborhoods becomes a crucial task in the early planning stage. Integrating solar energy equipment into urban buildings poses many challenges, such as uncertainties and the complexity of urban built agglomeration. Due to the time-consuming solar energy potential assessment process and lack of knowledge of urban actors, a reliable framework is required to predict buildings’ solar energy potential. This research presents a comprehensive machine learning data processing framework to predict output energy of Water Lenses (WL) based on buildings specifications and relationship to the neighbourhood. The research used a raw dataset consisting of 7000 sample buildings in different situations by applying 12 years of climatic conditions in Tallinn, Estonia. The results were entered into a Supervised Machine Learning process and the Gaussian Naive Bayes technique was used for classification of building features to be implemented with solar systems. Finally, the process was measured by a confusion matrix that showed 80% accuracy of ML output predictions in the urban context.

Trendline Assessment of Solar Energy Potential in Hungary and Current Scenario of Renewable Energy in the Visegrád Countries for Future Sustainability

This article aims to present some opportunities for improved solar energy utilization by raising the share of renewables in energy generation in the Visegrád Countries (Poland, Czech Republic, Slovakia, and Hungary). The analysis is based on the status of the renewable energy targets in the member countries and their future possibilities. This paper derives input through a thorough investigation of independent data, government policies, European Commission reports, and other data available online with free access. The analysis is processed by focusing on Hungary, as a country with various possible facets of solar energy demand and supply in the region. The assessment methodology is in the context of a geographical map, technical regression analysis, temperature distribution profiles, and the relative trends of solar potential in Hungary. The country currently has ten solar power plants with more than 10 MWp, and five remarkable plants under 10 MWp capacity spread over Hungary. The analysis on geographical aspects clubbed with technical and solar affecting parameters was carried out to harvest the sustainable potential of solar energy in the region. This study attempts to establish a relationship between the current and future prospects of solar energy in Hungary as a nation, and as part of the Visegrád countries, based on assessment for a sustainable future.

Assessment of Solar Energy Potential of East Gojjam Zone Ethiopia Using Angestrom-Prescott Model

Only a small number of Ethiopia’s rural population has access to electricity. These rural areas can be electrified using different electrification approaches. One of the prime challenges in the decision making process is to obtain reliable information about the energy potential of the region under consideration. In this paper, an assessment of the solar energy potential of East Gojjam Zone in Ethiopia is presented. In the study area, there are only four meteorological measurement stations, namely: Debre Markos, Debrewerk, Mota, and Yetnora. The data for the hours of sunshine for these sites is collected from the National Meteorological Agency, Bahir Dar Branch Office. The data is prepared and used to calculate the mean global horizontal solar radiation using Angestrom-Prescott (AP) Model. An AP model for the four study sites was developed. The model regression coefficients, a and b, are estimated for each study site for respective latitudes, average hours of sunshine and day length. According to the models, the annual mean daily global horizontal radiation for Debre Markos, Debrewerk, Mota, and Yetnora is 5.88, 6.52, 6.28, and 6.31 kWh/m2/day, respectively, and 6.30kWh/m2/day for East Gojjam Zone, which is actually a very good solar energy potential. According to the monthly average global horizontal solar radiation profiles, the study sites receive the highest solar radiation in April and lowest solar radiation in July and August. The radiation in Debre Markos varies between 3.97 and 5.88kWh/m2/day, but Debrewerk receives more uniform solar radiation throughout the year. By considering intermittency and average solar energy potential of the four sites, Debrewerq and Debre Markos are the best and the worst sites, respectively, for large solar energy projects.

Assessment of solar energy potential and development in Afghanistan

Energy generation in Afghanistan is limited and heavily dependent on fossil fuels and imported electricity. Due to rapid population growth and progress in the industry, services, and agriculture sectors, the existing energy sources are not fulfilling the current energy needs of the country. Meanwhile, there is a big gap between power supply and demand, which led to an energy shortage in Afghanistan. Consequently, there is a need to develop power generation and assure energy sustainability by concentrating on renewable energy sources. This paper aims to analyze the theoretical, practical, and economic potential of solar energy in Afghanistan with the main focus on PV power technology. Power generation from solar sources is theoretically, practically, and economically suitable for Afghanistan and can be a perfect solution for the energy shortage in the country. The Afghan government should consider developing solar energy as a priority for energy security, socio-economic development, and improving the quality of life in Afghanistan.

Assessment of solar energy potential and its deployment for cleaner production in Pakistan

This paper presents a comprehensive overview of the potential and outlook of solar energy in Pakistan as a source of renewable and sustainable energy. A detailed energy infrastructure and major reasons behind the power crisis in Pakistan are presented followed by a detailed assessment of solar energy potential. The results obtained from the solar atlas for solar irradiation and PV electricity output show a high potential of solar power throughout the country. An average value of 4.1 kWh/kWp per day is obtained from an installed capacity of 1 KWp. Furthermore, the total estimated potential of solar power in Pakistan is around 2900 GW and its effective use will help in the growth of the country’s economy by reducing the import of fossil fuels. It is foreseen that the present research will help nations develop and utilize solar power in their respective countries efficiently and effectively.

Erratum: Solar Energy Potential Assessment on Rooftops and Facades in Large Built Environments Based on LiDAR Data, Image Processing, and Cloud Computing. Methodological Background, Application, and Validation in Geneva (Solar Cadaster)

Erratum: Solar Energy Potential Assessment on Rooftops and Facades in Large Built Environments Based on LiDAR Data, Image Processing, and Cloud Computing. Methodological Background, Application, and Validation in Geneva (Solar Cadaster)

Assessment of Solar Energy Potential and Its Ecological-Economic Efficiency: Azerbaijan Case

The paper investigates resource, technical, economic and market potential of solar energy and its ecology and economic efficiency in Azerbaijan. The authors have distinguished six regions in the territory of Azerbaijan with different levels of solar radiation. The resource potential of the regions is calculated by the AutoCad program. As well, technical and economic potential was calculated by special methodology. The authors concluded that Azerbaijan has so much solar energy resource potential and it is possible to replace traditional carbon types of energy with solar energy, even by using the modern technical equipment. However, it is impossible because of economic disadvantages and very low electricity prices. The price of 1 kWh electricity from carbon fuels is several times cheaper than 1 kWh electricity from solar energy. That is why it is difficult to attract investments to develop solar power. There is a necessity to develop a new electricity price policy to stimulate attractiveness of solar power for households and industry.

Solar energy potential assessment: A framework to integrate geographic, technological, and economic indices for a potential analysis

To develop solar energy as a primary source of electricity supply in China, it is imperative to also develop an overall and complete solar energy potential analysis. Such an analysis technique would be a substantial contribution to solar power generation development both nationally and regionally. This study analyzes the spatial and temporal distribution of solar energy in China and estimates the solar energy potential from three aspects: geography, technology, and economy. The results of this research showed that the solar energy resource in China is substantially rich and stable, but also has notable spatial heterogeneity. A potential estimation indicated that Xinjiang Province was the most optimal site for large-scale photovoltaic station construction, displaying the highest values for all three potentials. It was also found that solar energy potential in western China is greater, while the eastern region is less suitable for solar photovoltaic development. These results can provide support for the large-scale development and utilization of solar energy resources in the future.

Solar Energy Potential Assessment in Madurai City, India

Knowledge on solar radiation incident on horizontal or inclined surfaces is required for any solar energy application. This knowledge is useful for designing and performance evaluation of both solar thermal and photovoltaic systems. This study seeks to provide reliable information on the availability of solar energy resource in Madurai and to assess the potential of solar water heating and photovoltaic systems in the four zones of Madurai city. In this connection, solar radiation was continuously monitored at the four zones for a period of one year. From the study it is found that Madurai receives global solar radiation in the range of 3.37 – 6.25 kW/m². The analysis showed that global solar radiation is available in surplus throughout the year in all four zones of the city and that the city is ideally suited for harvesting solar energy. The potential of solar water heating in the domestic sector of Madurai city was assessed in the study. During the survey, the total roof area of the sample respondents in the four zones was calculated and was found to be 41,235 m². It was estimated that 4,123 systems of capacity 100 litres per day (lpd) could be installed on rooftops to meet the hot water demands of the population and could save upto 6.18 GW of electricity annually. The potential of solar photovoltaics was also analysed. It was found that there is an enormous potential for installing 3.61 MW photovoltaic system in the total available roof area of the sample households under study.<div><br></div>

Assessment of solar energy potential in Gaza Strip-Palestine

Renewable energy sources and technologies have the potential to provide solutions to the energy problems. Solar energy can be an important part of the Palestinian’s strategies not only to add a new capacity but also to increase energy security, addressing the environmental concerns. In this paper, efforts have been made to summarize the current status, availability, and future potential of solar energy options in Gaza Strip. Solar radiation data was provided by Meteoblue AG – Switzerland [www.meteoblue.com] as hourly time-series for 15 years from 2000 to 2015 for five cities in Gaza Strip, which are geographically presenting the entire Gaza Strip. Jabalia, Gaza, Deir-Albalah, Khan-Yunis, and Rafah. These data are used directly to evaluate the potential of solar energy in the three selected sites by means of the System Advisor Model (SAM) from National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) software. The potential of solar energy in Palestine using Photovoltaic (PV) and concentrating (CS) solar systems have been discussed. The present study can be considered as a road-map to get out of the electricity crisis in the Gaza Strip and to end the suffering of Gazians. In this work, two scenarios are suggested, the first one is urgent, it stipulates to generate the demand load (552 GWh/year) by means of (PV) solar power systems. While the second scenario is leading to terminate the reliance on imported energy by producing all the energy needs locally via (PV) solar system. The study reached to determine the financial budget, the levelized cost of electricity (LCOE), and the technical parameters for both scenarios. The urgent action is building up a 555 MWp of (PV) solar system on the rooftop of Gaza Strip’s buildings. This will cost about 800 million $US and the expected price of electricity will be ranged between ($US 0.07–0.11) per kWh, which is four times less than the present price ($US 0.29–0.46) per kWh. The solar energy can lay a strong foundation for an independent the Palestinian state, generate employment opportunities, alleviate poverty and provide a visionary approach to the dreams of Palestinian youths.

Об оценке потенциала солнечной энергии на начальном этапе проектирования фотоэлектрических установок

Об оценке потенциала солнечной энергии на начальном этапе проектирования фотоэлектрических установок

Probabilistic assessment of concentrated solar power plants yield: The EVA methodology

Understanding the long-term temporal variability of solar resource is fundamental in any assessment of solar energy potential. The variability of the solar resource (as shown by historical solar data) plays a significant role in the statistical description of the future performance of a solar power plant, thus influencing its financing conditions. In particular, solar-power financing is mainly based on a statistical quantification of the solar resource. In this work, a methodology for generating meteorological years representative of a given annual probability of exceedance of solar irradiation is presented, which can be used as input in risk assessment for securing competitive financing for Concentrating Solar Thermal Power (CSTP) projects. This methodology, which has been named EVA, is based on the variability and seasonality of monthly Direct Normal solar Irradiation (DNI) values and uses as boundary condition the annual DNI value representative for a given probability of exceedance. The results are validated against a 34-year series of net energy yield calculated at hourly intervals from measured solar irradiance data and meteorological, and they are also supplemented with the analysis of uncertainty associated to the probabilities of exceedance estimates. Relations between DNI and CSTP energy yields at different time scales are also analyzed and discussed.

Solar Energy Potential Assessment on Rooftops and Facades in Large Built Environments Based on LiDAR Data, Image Processing, and Cloud Computing. Methodological Background, Application, and Validation in Geneva (Solar Cadaster)

The paper presents the core methodology for assessing solar radiation and energy production on building rooftops and vertical facades (still rarely considered) of the inner-city. This integrated tool is based on the use of LiDAR, 2D and 3D cadastral data. Together with solar radiation and astronomical models it calculates the global irradiance for a set of points located on roofs, ground and facades. Although the tool takes simultaneously roofs, ground and facades, different methods of shadow casting are applied. Shadow casting on rooftops is based on image processing techniques. On the other hand, the assessment on facade involves first to create and interpolate points along the facades and then to implement a point-by-point shadow casting routine. The paper is structured in five parts: (i) state of the art on the use of 3D GIS and automated processes in assessing solar radiation in the built environment, (ii) overview on the methodological framework used in the paper, (iii) detailed presentation of the method proposed for solar modelling and shadow casting, in particular by introducing an innovative approach for modelling the Sky View Factor (SVF), (iv) demonstration of the solar model introduced in this paper through applications in Geneva’s building roofs (solar cadaster) and facades, (v) validation of the solar model in some Geneva’s spots, focusing especially on two distinct comparisons: solar model versus fisheye catchments on partially inclined surfaces (roof component); solar model versus photovoltaic simulation tool PVSyst on vertical surfaces (facades). Concerning the roof component, validation results emphasize global sensitivity related to the density of light sources on the sky vault to model the SVF. The low dense sky model with 145 light sources gives satisfying results, especially when processing solar cadasters in large urban areas, thus allowing to save computation time. In the case of building facades, introducing weighting factor in SVF calculation leads to outputs close to those obtained by PVSyst. Such good validation results make the proposed model a reliable tool to: (i) automatically process solar cadaster on building rooftops and facades at large urban scales, (ii) support solar energy planning and energy transition policies.

VOLUNTARY NOISE MAPPING FOR SMART CITY

Abstract. One of the main concept objectives of smart cities is to create a quality living environment that is long-term sustainable and economically justified. In that context, modern cities are aware of the exposure to various forms of physical and non-physical pollution that needs to be remediated, eliminated or reduced. To achieve that it is necessary to quality determine the sources and reasons of each pollution. The most prominent examples of physical pollution that affects the quality of life of citizens in cities are light and noise pollution. Noise pollution or noise, is mostly the consequence of road and rail traffic in cities and it directly affects the health of citizens. Traffic control, reduction of peak congestion, dispersion and traffic redirection or building protective barriers, are ways that cities use to reduce the amount of noise or its effects. To make these measures efficient it is necessary to obtain the information related to the level of noise in certain areas, streets, cities. To achieve this, smart cities use noise mapping. The city of Zagreb since 2012, participates in the i-SCOPE project (interoperable Smart City services trough Open Platform for urban Ecosystems). i-SCOPE delivers an open platform on top of which it develops, three "smart city" services: optimization of energy consumption through a service for accurate assessment of solar energy potential and energy loss at building level, environmental monitoring through a real-time environmental noise mapping service leveraging citizen's involvement will who act as distributed sensors city-wide measuring noise levels through an application on their mobile phones and improved inclusion and personal mobility of aging and diversely able citizens through an accurate personal routing service. The students of Faculty of Geodesy University of Zagreb, who enrolled in the course Thematic Cartography, were actively involved in the voluntary data acquisition in order to monitor the noise in real time. In this paper are presented the voluntary acquisitioned data of noise level measurement in Zagreb through a mobile application named Noise Tube, which were used as the basis for creating the dynamic noise map. The paper describes how citizens through voluntarily collected geoinformation can directly influence decision-making in their community, which certainly affects the quality of life.