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technology research • quality control • optimise locations • select system type • inform investment decisions • maximise operating efficiency • schedule maintenance • monitor performance • output forecasting
Why is Accurate Solar Radiation Measurement Critical for Solar Energy?
Good quality, reliable radiation data is extremely important for and the scale is too large, to provide a reliable basis on which to
all activities in the solar energy sector. Photovoltaic (PV) and make technology and investment decisions. Due to micro-climate
concentrating solar power (CSP) thermal systems may have and topographical differences, changes in location of a few “
slightly differing requirements, but they need accurate solar hundred kilometers can result in a change of hundreds of annual
radiation information for the same reasons. sunshine hours.
30 W 20 W 10 W 0E 10 E 20 E 30 E 40 E 50 E 60 E
Technology research
Improvements in PV technologies are often incremental, each
60 N
60 N
step is small, but the total gain can be large. For example, two
50 N
different solutions may show efficiencies of 20 % and 22 %
(10 % improvement) under ideal laboratory simulation.
50 N
However, this needs to be verified in the real world under
50 N
varying weather and sky conditions compared to ‘reference’
50 N
50 N
quality solar radiation measurements.
Quality control
If a manufacturer or a supplier wishes to ensure that the
performance of their PV cells or panels does not vary by more
40 N
40 N
than (for example) 5 %, they need to measure the solar radiation
significantly more accurately than this. To verify specifications
the manufacturer, or independent test laboratory, needs reference
quality measurements. 0E 10 E 20 E 30 E 40 E
Europe is shown. Such maps are often used to derive the potential
<600 800 1000 1200 1400 1600 1800 2000 2200>
for solar electricity generation in a particular region. However, Yearly sum of solar electricity generated by 1 kWp system with optimally-inclined modules and performance ratio 0.75 [kWh/kWp]
Output forecasting
Current solar radiation and meteorological measurements, and a
historical database, can be used in conjunction with satellite data
and weather forecasts as inputs to now-casting/forecasting models
for the output of the plant. This is of particular interest to grid
operators, as other power generation sources cannot be switched
in instantly when clouds pass over the solar energy plant.
1.0
Response [arbitrary units]
0.5
0
0 100 200 300 400 500 1000 2000 3000 4000 5000 10000 20000 30000 40000 50000 60000
Wavelength [nm]
figure 2: the wavelength bands of radiation, where blue is UVB radiation, yellow is UVA, white is visible light, cream is near infrared (NIR),
and pink is far infrared (FIR). The blue line represents the solar radiation at the Earth’s surface, the black curve represents the
sensitivity of the human eye, the green curve is the spectral sensitivity of a typical photovoltaic cell, the red curve represents the
sensitivity of a thermopile pyranometer with glass domes, and the pink curve shows the sensitivity of a thermopile pyrgeometer.
All are normalised to an arbitrary maximum of 1.0 unit for comparison purposes.
sur
ere
Solar Energy
th’s
that reaches the Earth’s surface. When the sun is directly
sph
atm ce from
100 %
e
her
ear
tmo
osp
om
overhead the atmospheric depth/thickness is at a minimum,
by a
ds a o spa
d fr
cted
ecte
clou ated t
nd
and is defined as having a Relative Air Mass of 1.0 for that
th
efle
refl
ear
s
i
rad
r
oud
location. As the sun moves down towards the horizon, the air
6%
4%
om
y cl
64%
e fr
db
pac
mass increases to approximately 11 times larger and the effects
ecte
or
to s
vap
refl
16% absorbed by atmosphere
ctly
of absorption and scattering are correspondingly greater.
r
ate
20%
dire
in w
d
ate
eat
adi
nt h
3% absorbed by clouds
Some of these processes are easily observed. Short wavelengths
r
late
6%
e by
are scattered much more strongly by molecules in the atmosphere
re
her
phe
ir
osp
(Rayleigh scattering) than longer wavelengths, so when the sun is
mos
ng a
atm
y at
risi
high the ‘diffuse’ sky appears blue. However, when the sun is near
nd
db
and
ds a
rbe
tion
lou
the horizon so much blue is scattered by the thick atmosphere
bso
to c
duc
on a
con
that the skies in the morning and evening appear red.
ied
iati
carr
7%
rad
23%
15%
On a day with a clear sky the irradiance reaching the Earth’s surface 51% absorbed by land and oceans
Chile Singapore
Mainstream Renewable Power Precicon D&C Pte. Ltd
Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile
South Africa
France Centre for Renewable and Sustainable Energy Studies
Akuo Energy Stellenbosch University, Faculty of Engineering
Bertín Technologies
CNR • Compagnie Nationale du Rhône Spain
CSTB • Centre Scientifique et Technique du Bâtiment Abengoa Bioenergía
EDF • Energies Nouvelles ACCIONA Energy
Eole-Res CENER • Centro Nacional de Energías Renovables
INES • Institut National de l’Energie Solaire Endesa
LE2P Université de la Réunion Enho
Université de Corse Iberdrola
Veolia Environnement Recherche & Innovation Medioambientales y Tecnológicas
PSA-CIEMAT • Plataforma Solar de Almería-Centro de Investigaciones Energéticas
Germany Renovables SAMCA
Alfred-Wegener-Institute Solucar
CSP Services GmbH
Deutscher Wetterdienst Switzerland
DLR • Deutsches Zentrum für Luft- und Raumfahrt EPFL • École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne
Forschungszentrum Jülich ETH Zürich • Eidgenössische Technische Hochschule Zürich
GE:NET GmbH Interstaatliche Hochschule Buchs
IBC Solar Meteolabor AG
ISE • Fraunhofer Institut für Solare Energiesysteme MeteoSwiss
Meteocontrol GmbH Oerlikon Solar
Skytron Energy GmbH Berlin University Basel
Soitec Solar GmbH
TÜV Rheinland United Kingdom
University Potsdam and others in Germany Lightsource Renewable Energy Ltd
ZSW • Zentrum für Sonnenenergie- und Wasserstoff-Forschung
USA
Italy Campbell Scientific
Albarubens GroundWork
juwi solar inc.
Korea Surya Design
KIER • Korea Institute of Energy Research
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