Location-based Solar Energy Potential Prediction Algorithm for Mountainous Rural Landscapes
The world is facing critical energy crisis today. As a result the conventional grid energy supplies are not enough to meet the present demand. Many advance researches are in progress to overcome this energy predicament. Power generation and management in disconnected rural villages is challengin...
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| Main Authors: | , |
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| Format: | E-Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
LJS Publisher and IJCSIS Press
2013
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| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | http://ir.unimas.my/id/eprint/16908/1/Location-based_Solar_Energy_Potential_Pr%28Abstract%29.pdf http://ir.unimas.my/id/eprint/16908/ http://sites.google.com/site/ijcsis/ |
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| Summary: | The world is facing critical energy crisis today. As a result
the conventional grid energy supplies are not enough to meet the
present demand. Many advance researches are in progress to
overcome this energy predicament. Power generation and
management in disconnected rural villages is challenging. The
situation is even more challenging when landscape structure in such
environment are irregular. Forces of diffusion, ground reflectance
and sky view factor among others, affect the quality of final solar
radiation incident on a solar panel. This paper describes the
implementation of an algorithm that can be used to predict solar
energy potential of irregular landscapes. Location-based Solar
Energy Potential Prediction Algorithm (LOSEPPA) takes as input,
the geographic latitude and longitude of the location of interest to
compute the Solar Irradiance Factor (SIF). Geographic latitude plays
an important role in the availability of sufficient solar radiation as
well as the state of the atmosphere. Therefore, SIF value serves as a
guide to the state of the atmosphere in terms of degree of cloud cover,
temperature, humidity and landscape structure; which determines the
feasibility of the solar energy implementation. The approach
described in this paper can be used for rapidly computing the amount
of solar radiation generated on a mountainous landscape surface and
in the atmosphere as a function of height parameters. With SIF value
known, solar panel can be mounted along specific angle of
inclination to the sun. The algorithm design covers one year period
and is based on the Digital Elevation Model (DEM) of the location
under investigation. The proposed system was simulated using
MATLAB1.
Result show that the more irregular the landscape is, the lower the
solar irradiance factor. SIF value of 400 and above predicts well
enough sunshine for solar PV implementation in mountainous
landscapes. Sample results show that solar radiation per kernel per
day for a given landscape is highest between 12noon and 2.00PM
local time; and the radiation per kernel per year for a given
landscape have highest sunshine hours in January and December. |
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