Table Of ContentSPRINGER BRIEFS IN ENERGY
Jay Doorga
Soonil Rughooputh
Ravindra Boojhawon
Geospatial
Optimization
of Solar Energy
Cases
from Around
the World
123
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· ·
Jay Doorga Soonil Rughooputh
Ravindra Boojhawon
Geospatial Optimization
of Solar Energy
Cases from Around the World
JayDoorga SoonilRughooputh
FacultyofSustainableDevelopment& FacultyofScience,DepartmentofPhysics
Engineering,DepartmentofEmerging UniversityofMauritius
Technologies Reduit,Mauritius
UniversitédesMascareignes
RoseHill,Mauritius
RavindraBoojhawon
FacultyofScience,Department
ofMathematics
UniversityofMauritius
Reduit,Mauritius
ISSN2191-5520 ISSN2191-5539 (electronic)
SpringerBriefsinEnergy
ISBN978-3-030-95212-9 ISBN978-3-030-95213-6 (eBook)
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-95213-6
©TheAuthor(s),underexclusivelicensetoSpringerNatureSwitzerlandAG2022
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InMemoryofMrBeeshamsinghDoorga,
nowinHeaven
Foreword
Thecostsofnewrenewableenergysourceshavefallendramaticallyinrecentyears.
Itisincreasinglyclearthatrenewableswillplaythecriticalroleinfutureelectricity
systems,astheglobaleffortfordecarbonizationgatherspace.Moreover,theglobal
solar resource vastly exceeds humanity’s demand for energy. And this resource is
best in the countries within, and close to, the tropics. So solar electricity will be
criticaltothesustainabledevelopmentofthegrowingeconomiesinthesecountries.
Butknowingthatsolarenergywillbeimportantisonlypartofwhatweneedto
understand. There are other questions. What is the relative importance of rooftop
installationsandsolarfarms?Andhowshouldthelatterbelocated,giventheimpor-
tantconstraints,suchasloadproximity,networkconnection,topography,ecological
impactsandotheroptionsforuseofthesameland?
The authors of this book have produced an excellent manual for answering
these questions. Starting from the fundamental science, and using state-of-the-art
geographicalinformationsystems’approachesforresourceassessment,theysystem-
aticallyaddressthekeyissues.Theresultisaninvaluableguidefordecision-makers
seeking to make best use of solar energy, and an excellent resource for everyone
interested in the challenge of deploying the world’s most important renewable
resource.
October2021 Prof.NickEyre
EnvironmentalChangeInstitute
UniversityofOxford
Oxford,UK
vii
Preface
The increasing energy demand stemming from rapid urbanization and economic
developmentiscausingseriousstrainonthedwindlingreservesoffossilfuels.With
thealarmingriseinglobaltemperaturesincepre-industriallevels,theglobalcommu-
nityiscallingforimmediatesustainableactions.Blessedwiththeabundanceofsolar
resources, mostly concentrated in the tropical and sub-tropical regions, countries
worldwidearetappingintothisenergysource.Theintegrationofsolarenergyinthe
globalenergymixisbeingacceleratedbythesignificantdeclineinthecostofphoto-
voltaicmodulesovertheyears.However,theimplementationofphotovoltaicfacili-
tiesnecessitatesubstantiallandresources,whichisbecomingscarcewithpopulation
growth,competinglanduses,andclimatechange.
Thisbriefprovidesanoverviewonhowcountriescansustainablyplantheirland
resourcessoastomaximizesolarenergyyieldwhilstminimizinglandspace.Three
mainthemesarecovered:Modellingthesolarradiationclimatetooptimizeonland
resources;Determiningbestregionsforutility-scalesolarfacilities;Exploitationof
availablerooftopspacetodampenlandrequirements.Thepolicyimplicationsthat
wouldhelpcountriesboosttheirsolarenergymarketsarealsoelaborated.
Thisdocumenthasbeencompiledwiththehopethatitmayserveasareference
toprovideaninformeddecisiontoallthosewhoareconcernedwiththeenthusiastic
task of promoting sustainable development through the efficient harnessing of the
solarresource.Theorganization ofthisdocumentisinsuchawayastoprovidea
comprehensiveknowledgeandguideonhowtoexploitthesolarenergyresourceto
awideaudience,rangingfromresearcherstopolicymakersandpeopleingeneral.
RoseHill,Mauritius Dr.JayDoorga
October2021 Prof.SoonilRughooputh
Assoc.Prof.RavindraBoojhawon
ix
Acknowledgements
WewouldliketoacknowledgethesupportofAngelikiAthanasopoulou,CecilJoselin
Simon and Cynthia Kroonen for coordinating this book project. The completion
of this work would not have been possible without the inputs from NASA Earth
Observation,MauritiusMeteorologicalServices,RevueAgricoleetSucrièredel’Île
Maurice, OpenStreetMap, Ministry of Housing and Lands (Cartographic Section),
andStatisticsMauritius.WeextendourthankstoRyanTannooforthearchitectural
layout of the Solar City design proposed. The facilities and resources provided by
theUniversitédesMascareignesandtheUniversityofMauritiusarealsogratefully
acknowledged.
xi
Contents
1 Introduction .................................................... 1
1.1 GlobalEnergyContext ...................................... 1
1.2 SolarResourcePotentialandGeospatialConstraints ............. 2
1.3 ScopeofThisWork ......................................... 3
1.4 BookStructure ............................................. 4
References ...................................................... 4
2 SolarEnergy .................................................... 7
2.1 RadiationJourneyfromSuntoEarth .......................... 7
2.2 SolarRadiationBudget ...................................... 8
2.3 SolarSpectrumTheoryandAtmosphericInteraction ............ 9
2.4 SolarRadiationComponents ................................. 10
2.5 PhotovoltaicEffect ......................................... 12
2.6 PhotovoltaicSolarEnergy ................................... 13
2.7 MeasurementofSolarParameters ............................. 13
2.8 Spatio-TemporalVariationsinInsolation ....................... 15
2.8.1 Seasonal,Latitudinal,andDailyVariations .............. 15
2.8.2 CloudCoverandTopographicInfluence ................. 15
References ...................................................... 16
3 GeospatialModellingofSolarRadiationClimate ................... 19
3.1 SolarResourceAssessmentandOptimization .................. 19
3.2 Satellite-BasedResourceAssessment ......................... 20
3.3 WeatherResearchForecasting(WRF) ......................... 21
3.4 RegressionAnalysis ........................................ 22
3.5 ExtraterrestrialSolarRadiation ............................... 24
3.6 SolarRadiationModels ..................................... 24
3.6.1 Sunshine-BasedModels .............................. 25
3.6.2 Temperature-BasedModels ........................... 25
3.6.3 Cloud-BasedModels ................................. 27
3.6.4 Hybrid-Parameter-BasedModels ....................... 28
xiii
