ABSTRACT
Quantifying the temporal and spatial variability of solar radiation for developing renewable energy applications requires data representative of the long-term conditions at a specific location. More specifically, if long-term, high-quality data are not available, the best option for a bankable resource assessment study is to provide a year or two of high-quality ground-based measurements with a 10–30 yearlong satellite-derived solar radiation database. The geostationary satellites measure the light reflected from clouds and the Earth’s surface to estimate the solar radiation at the Earth’s surface. The lowest pixel countduring a series of baseline images is assumed to be the ground brightness under clear-sky conditions. The geostationary satellites measure the light reflected from clouds and the Earth’s surface to estimate the solar radiation at the Earth’s surface. Geostationary satellites are located approximately 35,880 km above the equator in a geosynchronous orbit. Many models exist to derive irradiance values from satellite data. Physical models can either produce broadband or spectral results.
