Solar Resources Mapping Fundamentals and Applications Jesus Polo

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Solar Resources Mapping Fundamentals and Applications Jesus Polo

Preface

Solar photovoltaic (PV) represented 55% of the new renewable energy installations
in 2017, with a total global capacity of 402 GW, exceeding combined fossil fuels
and nuclear power additions, according to the Renewables 2018 Global Status
Report (REN2018). At the same time, the global operating commercial capacity of
Concentrating Solar Power (CSP) reached 4.9 GW in 2017 (REN2018) and is
expected to double by 2020 (IEA SolarPACES Technology Collaboration
Programmes), while the global capacity of solar water heating collectors was
estimated to be 472 GW thermal at the end of 2017 (REN2018).
To ensure the technological sustainability of the deep and growing penetration of
solar power, a thorough knowledge and characterization of solar resources worldwide
are needed. In addition, the operational use of solar power in tasks such as
power grid management, dynamic electricity pricing, and solar energy adoption
modeling requires further uncertainty reduction in the assessment of solar resources.
High-level expertise from several disciplines converges to assist in the deployment
of solar power plants. Thermal and energy engineering and deep knowledge
of optics contribute to plant design, marketing and finance help address issues of
solar energy technology diffusion and bankability, and energy meteorology and
geographic computing together enable the characterization of power output from
solar energy systems.
Among all research and development endeavors, the mapping of solar resources
is undoubtedly the fundamental activity in providing the information needed to
establish the technical and regulatory basis for the diffusion of solar power technologies,
especially in developing countries where financial resource mobilization
for technological innovation is more challenging. Nevertheless, while the potential
for solar power technology adoption in any country certainly depends on solar
resource availability, it is ultimately determined by the permeability of the local
social, economic, and political context to the introduction and diffusion of
renewable energy solutions. In recognizing this dependency, the book aims at
addressing both endogenous and exogenous aspects of solar resource mapping,
including the ensuing operational applications, since both are involved in the
decision-making processes that underlie the adoption of solar energy applications
solutions.
The book starts with very basic information on solar radiation definitions and
magnitudes in Chap. 1, where an overview on the interaction of solar radiation with
the Earth’s atmosphere and basic concepts of solar geometry are presented.
Chapters 2–7 are dedicated to the background on measuring and modeling solar
irradiance. Chapter 2 presents a thorough review of instruments to measure solar
radiation. The working principles and types of radiometers (broadband and spectral)
are widely described, and an overview of calibration and traceability is also presented.
Chapter 3 continues by giving a detailed vision on all the aspects that must
be considered when setting up a complete radiometric and meteorological station
for monitoring the main involving variables. Recommendations on selecting the
site, maintenance actions, sampling and data acquisition, shielding and safety and
security are remarked in this chapter. The part focused on measuring solar radiation
ends up with Chap. 4 which is dedicated to quality assurance of the measurements.
Modeling solar radiation for clear sky and all sky conditions are covered through
Chaps. 5–7. The state of the art on clear sky models is presented in Chap. 5. This
chapter describes thoroughly the aspects from radiative transfer and atmospheric
optics that influence in modeling the solar irradiance under cloudless conditions. It
presents also the most updated and accurate clear sky models, their input needs, the
impact of atmospheric aerosols and the validation and the sources of uncertainty.
Chapter 6 is focused on reviewing the models for all sky conditions solar radiation
derived from satellite imagery presenting the fundamental working principles of the
models and lists the most widely used databases and products of solar irradiance
retrieved from satellite information. The modeling part of the book ends with Chap. 7
dedicated to modeling solar radiation with numerical weather prediction models.
Numerical weather models have been used mainly for meteorological forecasting,
but they offer solar radiation among the main output variables, and they have been
evolved recently to model accurately the solar irradiance. The chapter gives an
overview of the background of numerical modeling the atmosphere and then
focused on the use of weather models for solar resource assessment.
Chapters 8–10 constitute the part of the book focused on mapping and spatial
analysis of solar radiation. Chapter 8 describes the different spatial interpolation
techniques which can be applied to the grided output of the satellite and numerical
models including examples with ArcGIS. It also presents the basis of solar radiation
estimation with ArcGIS including practical examples of mapping solar radiation in
the urban environment. Chapter 9 summarizes the basic steps in creating solar
radiation maps with GIS software. It introduces the basic spatial data types and
presents a very simple exercise of a solar radiation map with an open-source
software GIS. Chapter 10 describes statistical techniques, clustering, for identifying
specific regions according to solar radiation variability. It presents examples of
using these statistical techniques with GIS tools for optimizing the selection of
ground stations in a large spatial region. The short-term period ground measurements
are important to correct the systematic bias of long-term modeled solar
radiation from satellite images and numerical models.
Chapters 11–15 belong to the part of the book dedicated to specific applications
of solar energy in a country level to improve environmental sustainability, solving
problems such as global warming, lack of water, environmental pollution, and rapid
consumption of natural resources. Chapter 11 provides a summary on modeling
solar power plant performance (photovoltaic and concentrating solar power plants)
for long-term characterization and yield performance analysis. Chapter 12 deals
with the spatiotemporal analysis of solar radiation variability and the potential
impact on the power grid. Spatial variability and smoothing effect are mentioned in
this chapter, and some remarks for power grid management are also pointed out to
improve the integration of solar energy. Chapter 13 continues with PV integration
and presents a comprehensive overview of demand-side management and how this
kind of analysis can foster PV integration. Chapter 14 presents a summary of the
actual status of desalinization using concentrating solar systems. Finally, Chap. 15
presents another particular application of solar energy for water detoxification.
The contributors to this book are highly skilled experts in their knowledge areas.
Many of them are among the most recognized experts worldwide in solar resource
knowledge and assessment. We, as editors, feel the privilege and proud of having
brought their participation to this book, and we wish to thank them extensively for
their excellent work in each chapter. The editor board hopes that the reader enjoys
the book and can find useful information to its professional activity.

Contents

1 Fundamentals: Quantities, Definitions, and Units . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
Jesús Polo, Luis Martín-Pomares, Christian A. Gueymard,
José L. Balenzategui, Fernando Fabero and José P. Silva
2 Solar Radiation Measurement and Solar Radiometers . . . . . . . . . 15
José L. Balenzategui, Fernando Fabero and José P. Silva
3 Establishing a Solar Monitoring Station with Auxiliary
Measurements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 71
Frank Vignola
4 Quality Assurance of Solar Radiation Measurements . . . . . . . . . . 99
José P. Silva, José L. Balenzategui, Luis Martín-Pomares,
Stefan Wilbert and Jesús Polo
5 Clear-Sky Radiation Models and Aerosol Effects . . . . . . . . . . . . . 137
Christian A. Gueymard
6 Solar Radiation Modeling from Satellite Imagery . . . . . . . . . . . . . 183
Jesús Polo and Richard Perez
7 Solar Resource Evaluation with Numerical Weather Prediction
Models . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 199
Pedro A. Jiménez, Jared A. Lee, Branko Kosovic and Sue Ellen Haupt
8 Solar Radiation Interpolation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 221
Ana M. Martín and Javier Dominguez
9 Basics on Mapping Solar Radiation Gridded Data . . . . . . . . . . . . 243
Jesús Polo and Luis Martín-Pomares
10 Sampling Design Optimization of Ground Radiometric
Stations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 253
Luis Martín-Pomares, Martín Gastón Romeo, Jesús Polo,
Laura Frías-Paredes and Carlos Fernández-Peruchena
11 Solar Power Plant Performance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 283
Jesús Polo
12 Solar Radiation Spatio-Temporal Analysis and Its Implications
for Power Grid Management . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 301
Jan Remund
13 Demand-Side Management for PV Grid Integration . . . . . . . . . . . 313
Islam Safak Bayram
14 Concentrating Solar Power and Desalination Plants . . . . . . . . . . . 327
Patricia Palenzuela and Diego C. Alarcón-Padilla
15 Solar Water Detoxification . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 341
Alejandro Cabrera, Sara Miralles and Lucas Santos-Juanes
16 Solar Nowcasting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 353
Antonio Sanfilippo