Photovoltaic power potential in West Africa using long-term satellite data
oleh: I. Neher, I. Neher, S. Crewell, S. Meilinger, U. Pfeifroth, J. Trentmann
| Format: | Article |
|---|---|
| Diterbitkan: | Copernicus Publications 2020-11-01 |
Deskripsi
<p>This paper addresses long-term historical changes in solar irradiance in West Africa (3 to 20<span class="inline-formula"><sup>∘</sup></span> N and 20<span class="inline-formula"><sup>∘</sup></span> W to 16<span class="inline-formula"><sup>∘</sup></span> E) and the implications for photovoltaic systems. Here, we use satellite irradiance (Surface Solar Radiation Data Set – Heliosat, Edition 2.1 – SARAH-2.1) and temperature data from a reanalysis (ERA5) to derive photovoltaic yields. Based on 35 years of data (1983–2017), the temporal and regional variability as well as long-term trends in global and direct horizontal irradiance are analyzed. Furthermore, a detailed time series analysis is undertaken at four locations.</p> <p>According to the high spatial resolution SARAH-2.1 data record (<span class="inline-formula"><math xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" id="M4" display="inline" overflow="scroll" dspmath="mathml"><mrow><mn mathvariant="normal">0.05</mn><msup><mi/><mo>∘</mo></msup><mo>×</mo><mn mathvariant="normal">0.05</mn><msup><mi/><mo>∘</mo></msup></mrow></math><span><svg:svg xmlns:svg="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" width="64pt" height="11pt" class="svg-formula" dspmath="mathimg" md5hash="45a84e604d395bd92d97c64be95fe1cb"><svg:image xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink" xlink:href="acp-20-12871-2020-ie00001.svg" width="64pt" height="11pt" src="acp-20-12871-2020-ie00001.png"/></svg:svg></span></span>), solar irradiance is largest (up to a 300 <span class="inline-formula">W m<sup>−2</sup></span> daily average) in the Sahara and the Sahel zone with a positive trend (up to 5 <span class="inline-formula">W m<sup>−2</sup></span> per decade) and a lower temporal variability (<span class="inline-formula"><75</span> <span class="inline-formula">W m<sup>−2</sup></span> between 1983 and 2017 for daily averages). In contrast, the solar irradiance is lower in southern West Africa (between 200 <span class="inline-formula">W m<sup>−2</sup></span> and 250 <span class="inline-formula">W m<sup>−2</sup></span>) with a negative trend (up to <span class="inline-formula">−5</span> <span class="inline-formula">W m<sup>−2</sup></span> per decade) and a higher temporal variability (up to 150 <span class="inline-formula">W m<sup>−2</sup></span>). The positive trend in the north is mostly connected to the dry season, whereas the negative trend in the south occurs during the wet season. Both trends show 95 % significance. Photovoltaic (PV) yields show a strong meridional gradient with the lowest values of around 4 <span class="inline-formula">kWh kWp<sup>−1</sup></span> in southern West Africa and values of more than 5.5 <span class="inline-formula">kWh kWp<sup>−1</sup></span> in the Sahara and Sahel zone.</p>