SOLEA is a new research project for the development of SOLar Energy Applications ... A zoom sequence showing a selection of the solar energy products.
The SOLEA Project
Estimation of the solar energy potential in real time
1
1
2
Panagiotis Kosmopoulos 1Michael Taylor 2Stelios Kazadzis
National Observatory of Athens World Radiation Centre, Switzerland
Introduction SOLEA is a new research project for the development of SOLar Energy Applications (www.solea.gr) based on solar irradiance spectra produced from a operational system that uses a synergy of neural networks (NN), radiative transfer (RT) simulations and real-time satellite retrievals. Surface spectra for the DNI, GHI and DHI are produced at high resolution (1nm, 0.05 degrees, 15-min) using input data acquired from MODIS & AERONET (aerosol) and from the SEVIRI onboard the MSG3 satellite (cloud). The RT-NN solver is capable of producing maps of spectrally-integrated GHI of the order of 104 to 105 pixels within 1-minute and with relative errors less than 20% of libRadtran-simulated values. Local or regional maps of the total DNI, GHI and DHI provide the capability needed to serve high precision solar power applications. SOLEA is one of the main pilot studies of the European project GEO-CRADLE (HORIZON 2020) and its scope is the interconnection of the solar energy applications with potential end users from different countries (North Africa, Middle East, Balkans, etc).
Innovations System high speed (58.000 simulations in < 1 minute) Precise effect of clouds and aerosols on radiation High spatial and temporal resolution (0.05 x 0.05 degrees, 15-min) Capable of high-precision calculations in real-time High spectral resolution (1nm) Reliability
Simulating atmospheric conditions and radiative transfer
NN is trained on a large-scale (2.5 million record) look-up table (LUT) of clear and cloudy sky radiative transfer simulations (generated by a bank of PCs running in parallel for over 3-months) to convert satellite cloud and aerosol products directly into solar radiation spectra.
The SOLEA model Satellite data
Precise assessment of solar energy Radiative transfer models
Neural networks
Momentum of the SOLEA model
UV index Solar Energy
Cloud Modification Factor
A zoom sequence showing a selection of the solar energy products. Going clockwise: the GHI for Europe, the UV index for Greece, the clear sky factor on the island of Crete, the insolation spectrum in a single pixel, and finally, the spectrally-weighted UV radiation specrum. Maps of UV products, including the UV index and the Vitamin D effective dose derived from the spectra, serve health, outdoor leisure and environmental protection end-users.
Input Data from MeteoSat
Estimation of the Solar Energy Potential in Real Time Global Horizontal Irradiance
Without clouds Clouds
Advanced products
Cloud Modification Factor
UV index
Dust episode impact Direct Normal Irradiance Attenuation (70-100%)
The inclusion of cloud and aerosol effects means that this approach is ideal for correct assessments of solar power operational loads.
Major Applications & Contribution to Emerging Technology Products
SOLEA is ideal for:
Real time nowcasts and short-term forecasts of:
realistic assessment of solar energy potential
cloud cover gridded spectra over the Earth disc
provision of solar energy applications of high precision in real time
gridded solar potential health and environmental UV radiation impact measures
solar potential forecasts for energy planning
Continental and local maps of solar products
Applications Location studies for the placement of SCP plants and CPV installations Large-scale and precise solar energy calculations to assist Public Authorities in energy planning policy Supporting the work of various scientific communities Provision of specialized data of high spectral precision for private and public sectors dealing with health protection, energy consumption and solar energy exploitation
