scholarly journals Sustainability at Auburn University: Assessing Rooftop Solar Energy Potential for Electricity Generation with Remote Sensing and GIS in a Southern US Campus

2022 ◽  
Vol 14 (2) ◽  
pp. 626
Author(s):  
Victoria Stack ◽  
Lana L. Narine
Keyword(s):  
Solar Radiation ◽  
Solar Energy ◽  
Electricity Generation ◽  
The United States ◽  
Slope Aspect ◽  
Total Solar Radiation ◽  
Auburn University ◽  
Solar Arrays ◽  
Southern Us ◽  
Rooftop Solar

Achieving sustainability through solar energy has become an increasingly accessible option in the United States (US). Nationwide, universities are at the forefront of energy efficiency and renewable generation goals. The aim of this study was to determine the suitability for the installation of photovoltaic (PV) systems based on their solar potential and corresponding electricity generation potential on a southern US university campus. Using Auburn University located in the southern US as a case study, freely available geospatial data were utilized, and geographic information system (GIS) approaches were applied to characterize solar potential across the 1875-acre campus. Airborne light detection and ranging (lidar) point clouds were processed to extract a digital surface model (DSM), from which slope and aspect were derived. The area and total solar radiation of campus buildings were calculated, and suitable buildings were then determined based on slope, aspect, and total solar radiation. Results highlighted that of 443 buildings, 323 were fit for solar arrays, and these selected rooftops can produce 27,068,555 kWh annually. This study demonstrated that Auburn University could benefit from rooftop solar arrays, and the proposed arrays would account for approximately 21.07% of annual electricity requirement by buildings, equivalent to 14.43% of total campus electricity for all operations. Given increasing open and free access to high-resolution lidar data across the US, methods from this study are adaptable to institutions nationwide, for the development of a comprehensive assessment of solar potential, toward meeting campus energy goals.

Changes in extreme surface solar radiation in EURO-CORDEX Regional Climate Models

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Blanka Bartok
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Power Generation ◽  
Solar Radiation ◽  
Solar Energy ◽  
Electricity Generation ◽  
Climate Models ◽  
Regional Climate ◽  
Regional Climate Models ◽  
Surface Solar Radiation ◽  
The Impact

<p>As solar energy share is showing a significant growth in the European electricity generation system, assessments regarding long-term variation of this variable related to climate change are becoming more and more relevant for this sector. Several studies analysed the impact of climate change on the solar energy sector in Europe (Jerez et al, 2015) finding light impact (-14%; +2%) in terms of mean surface solar radiation. The present study focuses on extreme values, namely on the distribution of low surface solar radiation (overcast situation) and high surface solar radiation (clear sky situation), since the frequencies of these situations have high impact on electricity generation.</p><p>The study considers 11 high-resolution (0.11 deg) bias-corrected climate projections from the EURO-CORDEX ensemble with 5 Global Climate Models (GCMs) downscaled by 6 Regional Climate Models (RCMs).</p><p>Changes in extreme surface solar radiation frequencies show different regional patterns over Europe.</p><p>The study also includes a case study determining the changes in solar power generation induced by the extreme situations.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p>Jerez et al (2015): The impact of climate change on photovoltaic power generation in Europe, Nature Communications 6(1):10014, 10.1038/ncomms10014</p><p> </p>

Water Requirement of Field Crops Estimated from Total Solar Radiation

1960 ◽  
Vol 41 (8) ◽  
pp. 403-405 ◽  
Author(s):  
T. L. Noffsinger ◽  
F. K. Nunns
Keyword(s):  
Solar Radiation ◽  
Solar Energy ◽  
Water Requirement ◽  
Total Solar Radiation ◽  
Field Crops

The proportion of the incident solar energy used in the evapotranspiration process is a measure of the water requirement of plants. It has been found that in Hawaii approximately 60 per cent of the insolation is used in evapotranspiration during a 12-mo period of alfalfa production. Monthly water-requirement estimates were made from the empirical equationwhere W = water requirement in inches per month, and S = solar radiation in calories per square centimeter per month.

Developing and Evaluation of Various Correlations for Diffuse Solar Radiation for Urla (Izmir, Turkey)

2012 ◽  
Vol 135 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Orhan Ekren
Keyword(s):  
Solar Radiation ◽  
Solar Energy ◽  
Tracking System ◽  
Diffuse Radiation ◽  
Energy System ◽  
Solar Irradiation ◽  
Total Solar Radiation ◽  
Total Radiation ◽  
Diffuse Solar Radiation ◽  
Tilted Surface

Characteristics of site-specific solar irradiation is required to optimize a solar energy system. If no tracking system is used, the amount of electricity or heat produced by solar energy depends on the total solar radiation on a tilted surface. Although pyranometer measures direct plus diffuse solar radiation on a horizontal surface, there are many locations where diffuse radiation is not measured. Also, diffuse radiation is necessary to determine the total radiation on a tilted surface. Therefore, in this study, new correlations for diffuse solar radiation is proposed as a function of atmospheric parameters for Urla (Izmir, Turkey). After applying the statistical procedure on the measured data, seven new correlations are proposed for the ratio of hourly average diffuse and total radiation. Also, the ratio of monthly average daily diffuse and total radiation for this region is proposed.

scholarly journals Trends in Downward Solar Radiation at the Surface over North America from Climate Model Projections and Implications for Solar Energy

2015 ◽  
Vol 2015 ◽  
pp. 1-7 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gerardo Andres Saenz ◽  
Huei-Ping Huang
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
North America ◽  
Solar Radiation ◽  
Solar Energy ◽  
Climate Model ◽  
Global Climate Model ◽  
The United States ◽  
Model Simulations ◽  
Climate Model Simulations ◽  
The Impact

The projected changes in the downward solar radiation at the surface over North America for late 21st century are deduced from global climate model simulations with greenhouse-gas (GHG) forcing. A robust trend is found in winter over the United States, which exhibits a simple pattern of a decrease of sunlight over Northern USA. and an increase of sunlight over Southern USA. This structure was identified in both the seasonal mean and the mean climatology at different times of the day. It is broadly consistent with the known poleward shift of storm tracks in winter in climate model simulations with GHG forcing. The centennial trend of the downward shortwave radiation at the surface in Northern USA. is on the order of 10% of the climatological value for the January monthly mean, and slightly over 10% at the time when it is midday in the United States. This indicates a nonnegligible influence of the GHG forcing on solar energy in the long term. Nevertheless, when dividing the 10% by a century, in the near term, the impact of the GHG forcing is relatively minor such that the estimate of solar power potential using present-day climatology will remain useful in the coming decades.

scholarly journals Solar Radiation Potential at Four Sites of Nepal

1970 ◽  
Vol 8 (3) ◽  
pp. 189-197 ◽  
Author(s):  
Khem N Pondyal ◽  
Binod K Bhattarai ◽  
Balkrishna Sapkota ◽  
Berit Kjeldstad
Keyword(s):  
Solar Radiation ◽  
Solar Energy ◽  
Diurnal Variation ◽  
Sea Level ◽  
Air Pollutants ◽  
Calculated Data ◽  
Horizontal Surface ◽  
Total Solar Radiation ◽  
Annual Average ◽  
Clear Sky

The intensity of solar radiation available at the horizontal surface are measured by a CMP6 Pyranometer in Biratnagar (26.45°N, 87.27°E), Pokhara (28.22°N, 83.32°E), Kathmandu (27.72°N, 85.32°E ) and Lukla (26.69°N,86.73°E), which are 72m, 800m, 1350m, and 2850m, above from the sea level. This paper compares the seasonal and altitude variations of total solar radiation measured at above mentioned sites. The maximum total solar radiation of about 704.51 W/m2, 815.97 W/m2 777.27 W/m2 and 914.03 W/m2, are observed in Biratnagar, Pokhara, Kathmandu, and Lukla respectively. Solar radiation available in any location is affected by topography and pollution. It is found that the more solar energy is available during spring than in summer in Lukla. The solar radiation is observed higher in Pokhara than in Kathmandu. It might be due to absorption of solar energy by air pollutants which are higher in Kathmandu as compared to Pokhara.In addition we also discussed the diurnal variation of measured and calculated data of solar radiation on clear sky day. The annual average solar energy measuring 4.95, 5.44, 5.19 and 4.61 kWh/m2/day is found in Biratnagar, Pokhara Kathmandu and Lukla respectively. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.3126/jie.v8i3.5944 JIE 2011; 8(3): 189-197

scholarly journals Solar Energy Resources of Nakhchivan

2021 ◽  
Vol 7 (9) ◽  
pp. 69-78
Author(s):  
S. Novruzova
Keyword(s):  
Renewable Energy ◽  
Solar Radiation ◽  
Solar Energy ◽  
Energy Resource ◽  
Horizontal Surface ◽  
Energy Resources ◽  
Total Solar Radiation ◽  
Total Radiation ◽  
The Republic ◽  
Autonomous Republic

The presented article examines the issues of energy security of the Nakhchivan Autonomous Republic, which is an integral part of the Republic of Azerbaijan, and the use of renewable energy in its provision. For this purpose, the solar energy resources of the Autonomous Republic were studied. The study used theoretical, computational, observational and comparative analysis methods to estimate solar energy as a renewable energy resource. The main source for assessing the potential of solar energy of the Autonomous Republic — experimental and observation materials of the USSR Hydrometeorological Committee on the Republic of Azerbaijan and NAR for 1960–1980, the results of researches of the Institute of Geography of the Azerbaijan National Academy of Sciences for 1936–1950, Nakhchivan AR experimental-observation materials of the Hydrometeorological Center for 1995–2015, static indicators of Nakhchivan Solar Power Plant for 2016–2017, as well as the results of theoretical and computational research were used. As a result of the study, it was determined that the annual value of total radiation (Q) in the horizontal area was 7541 and 6204 MC/m2, respectively, in the clear and medium cloudy sky. At the same time, the average annual transparency coefficient was 0.8229, 0.811 in winter and 0.897 in summer. The annual value of total radiation (Q) of the horizontal field in the territory of the NAR is higher than in other regions of the country, and the coefficient of transparency of the atmosphere is higher than in other regions, too. At the same time, the duration of solar radiation in the NAR is high and is 2792 hours. Formulas have been proposed to calculate the value of solar radiation falling on a horizontal surface on the basis of many years of experimental and observational materials. Using these calculation formulas, it is possible to calculate the total solar radiation on the horizontal surface for any area of the NAR.

scholarly journals Determining the Number of Solar Modules of a 1kW Solar Energy System in Antalya, Turkey

2018 ◽  
Vol 1 (1) ◽  
pp. 521-525
Author(s):  
Ceyda Aksoy Tırmıkçı ◽  
Cenk Yavuz
Keyword(s):  
Solar Radiation ◽  
Solar Energy ◽  
Tilt Angle ◽  
Energy System ◽  
Energy Output ◽  
Total Solar Radiation ◽  
Energy Relation ◽  
Solar Module ◽  
The City ◽  
Daily Total

In this paper the number of solar modules of a 1kW solar energy system was determined by using the total solar radiation and the solar module energy output energy relation. The total solar radiation was correlated with the tilt angle of solar modules. Thus the optimum yearly tilt angle of solar modules was calculated and assumed that solar modules of the system were tilted at this angle. In conclusion the monthly average daily total solar radiation, optimum yearly tilt angle and the number of solar modules of the related system were established for the city.

scholarly journals Assessment of the climatic resource potential of solar radiation as a renewable energy source.

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Valentina Zadvornykh ◽  
Trofimova Oksana
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Renewable Energy ◽  
Solar Radiation ◽  
Solar Energy ◽  
Energy Supply ◽  
Renewable Energy Sources ◽  
Energy Sources ◽  
Total Solar Radiation ◽  
The Russian Federation ◽  
Decentralized Energy

<p>Due to climate change and the need to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, the trend in the development of global energy is aimed at increasing the share of the introduction of environmentally friendly renewable energy sources. This contributes to ensuring sustainable heat and energy supply to the population and production in the zones of decentralized energy supply, which increases the energy security of the regions and the country as a whole. In addition, the introduction of renewable energy sources is seen as a key tool in adapting to climate change.</p><p>The report examines the climatic conditions of the territory of the Russian Federation in order to assess the prospects for the practical use of solar energy.</p><p>The basis of solar energy resources in a given point or region is the duration of the solar radiation and the amount of direct and total solar radiation entering the horizontal surface.</p><p>The research uses data from observations of the actinometric network of the Russian Federation. In areas where there are no observations of solar radiation, either indirect methods of calculation or access to open and accessible databases were used.</p><p>Based on the analysis of the complex of climatic characteristics selected for zoning, 10 radiation-homogeneous regions were identified on the territory of Russia, which were ranked according to the priority of the solar potential. The reliability of the boundaries of the selected regions was confirmed by comparing the spatial and temporal variability of the main radiation indicators. The selected regions can be divided into five groups: the most promising, promising, less promising, unpromising and unpromising.</p><p>The most promising regions are the regions south of 50N. The first region occupies the Primorsky Krai, the southern part of the Khabarovsk Region and the Amur Region, and the south-east of Transbaikalia. The second region is the southern part of the European territory of Russia.</p><p>The amount of total solar radiation entering the earth's surface for a year in these regions is 1330-1390 kWh/m<sup>2</sup>, which is the maximum for the territory of Russia. Both regions are characterized by a long duration of sunshine, especially for the first region (about 2400 hours per year). The high solar potential of these regions is indicated by the fact that in the period from April to September, the probability of a day favorable for the use of solar energy is 60%, in July it reaches 90%.</p><p>In less promising regions of Eastern Siberia, where there is a large influx of solar radiation in the winter and spring periods, it is advisable to use photovoltaic modules to generate electricity for autonomous consumers in areas of decentralized energy supply.</p>

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