Solar resource assessment is of paramount importance in the planning of solar energy applications. Solar resources are abundant and characterization is essential for the optimal design of a system. Solar energy is estimated, indirectly, by the processing of satellite images. Several analyses with satellite images have considered a single variable—cloudiness. Other variables, such as albedo, have been recognized as critical for estimating solar irradiance. In this work, a multivariate analysis was carried out, taking into account four variables: cloudy sky index, albedo, linke turbidity factor (TL2), and altitude in satellite image channels. To reduce the dimensionality of the database (satellite images), a principal component analysis (PCA) was done. To determine regions with a degree of homogeneity of solar irradiance, a cluster analysis with unsupervised learning was performed, and two clustering techniques were compared: k-means and Gaussian mixture models (GMMs). With respect to k-means, the GMM method obtained a smaller number of regions with a similar degree of homogeneity. The multivariate analysis was performed in Mexico, a country with an extended territory with multiple geographical conditions and great climatic complexity. The optimal number of regions was 17. These regions were compared for annual average values of daily irradiation data from ground stations using multiple linear regression. A comparison between the mean of each region and the ground station measurement showed a linear relationship with a R2 score of 0.87. The multiple linear regression showed that the regions were strongly related to solar irradiance. The optimal sites found are shown on a map of Mexico.
Nowadays, it is of great interest to know and forecast the solar energy resource that will be constantly available in order to optimize its use. The generation of electrical energy using CSP (concentrated solar power) plants is mostly affected by atmospheric changes. Therefore, forecasting solar irradiance is essential for planning a plant's operation. Solar irradiance/atmospheric (clouds) interaction studies using satellite and sky images can help to prepare plant operators for solar surface irradiance fluctuations. In this work, we present three methodologies that allow us to estimate direct normal irradiance (DNI). The study was carried out at the Solar Irradiance Observatory (SIO) at the Geophysics Institute (UNAM) in Mexico City using corresponding images obtained with a sky camera and starting from a clear sky model. The multiple linear regression and polynomial regression models as well as the neural networks model designed in the present study, were structured to work under all sky conditions (cloudy, partly cloudy and cloudless), obtaining estimation results with 82% certainty for all sky types. and overcast skies over the short-term (from 1 to 180 min) using a sky camera, where the average nRMSE values obtained were 24. 36%, 20.9% and 19.17%, respectively [5]. G. Reikard calculated the solar irradiance over time horizons of 60, 30, 15, and 5 min, implementing Autoregressive Integrated Moving Average (ARIMA) with errors between 20% and 90% [6]. Solar irradiance forecasting applied to photovoltaic energy production was implemented using the Smart Persistence algorithm in Machine Learning techniques, achieving an nRMSE of 25% on the best panels over short horizons, and 33% over a 6 h horizon [7].An analysis of energy forecasting in solar-tower plants combining a short-term solar irradiation forecasting scheme with a solar-tower plant model, the System Advisor Model (SAM), was used to simulate the behavior of the Gemasolar and Crescent Dunes plants. The findings showed that the best results appeared for the 90-min horizon, where the annual forecasting energy yield for Gemasolar was 97.34 GWh year while for Crescent Dunes it was 392.57 GWh year [8]. Similarly, cloud abundance forecasting has been studied for timescales of between (1-180 min), resulting in short-term forecasting (of less than one hour) and medium-term forecasting (up to 3 h), which was proven to have an 80% success rate-indeed, it was so successful that an application (portal) tool was developed that helps to increase power plant production [9,10].Recent studies have presented a method for the probabilistic forecasting of solar irradiance based on the joint Probability Distribution Function (PDF) of irradiance predicted using the Numerical Weather Prediction (NWP) and the irradiance observed; these are based on models of meteorological processes such as atmospheric dynamics, cloud formation and radiative transfer processes [11]. H. Yang and B. Kurtz estimated direct solar irradiance over the short and medium term for different sky conditions ...
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