Measurement and Modeling of Solar

Radiation

Dr. Manajit Sengupta

April 2016

NREL is a national laboratory of the U.S. Department of Energy, Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy, operated by the Alliance for Sustainable Energy, LLC.
Why Do We Need Solar Radiation Data?

• Agriculture Photosynthesis
• Astronomy Solar Output Variation
• Atmospheric Science Numerical Weather Prediction
• Climate Change Energy Balance
• Health UV effects on skin
• Hydrology Evaporation
• Materials Degradation
• Oceanography Energy Balance
• Photobiology Light and Life
• Renewable Energy Sustainability

2
 What Do We Want to Do with the Sun?

• Harvest the energy to support our lives

o Lower our cost of living (and maintain our
standard of living?)
o Reduce reliance on foreign energy supplies
o Reduce harm to the environment
• Transport the energy from one place to
another
o Produce in low population density; use in
high population density
• Store the energy for use at a later time
o Use at night
o Optimize response to demand

3
Power and Energy Understanding Solar Resources
Compare the Energy Density* of Solar Energy to Fossil Fuels

*1 Barrel of Oil In one average day at NREL, an area of

236 m2 receives 1.7MWh of solar energy
= 1.7MWh
236 m2 ~13-15 parking spaces =
1 BOE/day

Credit: DOE
When considering
conversion efficiencies
(15-20%), this NREL PV-
covered parking
structure may supply the
energy equivalent of a
barrel of oil per day.

4
 Why Solar Energy Resource Assessment

Accurate resource data reduce risks for each project phase:

Policy Decisions
Concept Site / Technology Selection

Increasing

Investor Commitment
Feasibility Project Approvals

Spatial & Temporal

Engineering Design
Due Diligence System Integration

Resolution
System Tests
Operations Operation & Maintenance
Energy System Integration
5
 The Best Practices Handbook

Chapter 3
Measuring Solar Radiation

Chapter 4
Modeling Solar Radiation

http://www.nrel.gov/docs/fy10osti/63112.pdf

6
6
Most common solar parameters

• Global Horizontal Irradiance (GHI)

• Direct Normal Irradiance (DNI)
• Diffuse Horizontal Irradiance (DHI)
• Plane of Array (POA)
• Spectral

GHI = DNI * cos(Z) + DHI

• Z is the angle
between the zenith
and the sun
• Z is 0° at the zenith
and 90° at sunrise or
sunset

7
Units of Solar Radiation

• Watts per square meter (W/m2)

• Watt hours per square meter (Wh/m2)
o Joules per square meter
o BTU per square foot
o Langleys
o Calories per square centimeter

8
Plane of Array Radiation
 POA irradiance is from three sources: DNI, DHI and solar
radiation reflected by land surface.
 An isotropic model assumes all diffuse radiation is
uniformly distributed over the sky.
 Anisotropic models such as the Perez model accounts for
the non-uniformity of diffuse light.

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9
Spectral Distribution of Solar Energy

Basic Solar Spectral Regions

(nominally 280-3000 nm):

Source: Philip Ronan

• Ultraviolet…..200 - 400 nm
• Visible……....400 - 700 nm
• Infrared……..700 - 3000 nm

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What Influences the Amount of Solar Radiation?
• Solar output
• Earth-Sun distance
• Clouds
• Water vapor
• Air pollution
• Smoke from forest fires
• Volcanic ash
• Location
• Time of day
• Season
11 year solar cycle
3.5% annual variation
Dominant factor
Selective absorber
40% less direct
Natural or man-made
Global effect for years
Solar position
11
Change with Time and Location

12
Changes with Time

13
Changes with Time - Interannual

MONTHLY MEAN DAILY TOTALS

Solar Radiation Research Laboratory 1986-2000

8000

Direct Trend y = 16.103x - 26829

SEASONALLY ADJUSTED MONTHLY MEAN

7000 2
R = 0.0061

6000
[W-hr/sq m]

5000

4000

3000 Global Trend y = 4.3303x - 4215.9

R2 = 0.0034

2000
1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001

14
What Influences the Amount of Solar Radiation?

Earth’s Orbit:
• Earth-Sun distance
(minimal)
• Relative axis tilt
(significant)
• Time of day
(largest)

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What Influences the Amount of Solar Radiation?

Forest Fires can have a significant effect for

days or weeks for hundreds of kilometers

• Direct down 22%

• Diffuse up by 100%

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The Solar “Constant”

World Radiation Center, Davos, Switzerland

http://www.pmodwrc.ch/

17
How Accurate Do the Data Need to Be?

• What are the Cost/Benefit and risks?

o Illuminated through Resource Assessment
o Higher value project (risk?) may demand higher accuracy

• What is the application?

o Residential (solar water preheat)
o Commercial (daylighting & building thermal performance)
o Industrial (concentrating collector solar power plant)
o Global integrated assessment model (IAM’s)
o Grid integration studies.

• What is the period of interest?

o Instantaneous, daily, seasonal, annual? Longer averaging intervals can
remove random errors
o Recent data more accurate than historical records (climate trends and
technology advancements)

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 How do we measure/model solar radiation?
• Ground Measurements:
Pyranometers, Pyrheliometers, etc.
– Advantages: accurate, high temporal resolution.
– Disadvantages: local coverage, regular
maintenance and calibration.

• Satellite derived estimates:

Physical (e.g. NREL PSM), empirical (e.g. SUNY), etc.
– Advantages: global coverage, reasonably long
time series,
– Disadvantages: spatial and temporal resolution,
complicated retrieval process, accuracy depends
on information content of satellite channels.

• Numerical Weather Prediction based estimates

NAM, GFS, ECMWF
– Advantages: global coverage, long time series
(reanalysis data), increasing computing capability
results in increasing resolution.
– Disadvantages: level of accuracy especially in
cloud formation and dissipation (initialization and
model physics issues).

NOTE: Methods that combine all 3 will ultimately provide

the best solutions.

19
Measuring and Using Solar Data
Topics

• Measuring and Using Solar Data

• Calibration
• Uncertainty and Data Quality
• Station Maintenance
• Measurement Station Siting and Deployment

21
 Measurement Options
First establish project accuracy requirements.
• Start from the end—what will the analysts need for
the best analysis?
• This allows you to base instrument selection and the Anticipate your
levels of effort for operating and maintaining the
system on an overall cost-performance future requirements
determination.

Always consider financial resources available

for all operations, including maintenance.
• “First-class” instrumentation should not be used if
the project resources cannot support the
maintenance required to ensure high measurement
quality.
• Without regular maintenance, the best instruments
may be worse than lesser instruments. This can
result in poor data at high cost.

22
 Measurement Options
Three fundamental
measurements
• Global Horizontal Irradiance (GHI)
• Direct Normal Irradiance (DNI)
• Diffuse Horizontal Irradiance (DHI)

Measuring all 3 components

provides measurement
redundancy

23
Measurement Options
Additional Measurements
• Global tilt – Fixed or tracking plane
of array (POA)
• Spectral, Infrared, Ultraviolet
• Albedo (ratio of upwelling and
downwelling globals)
• Meteorological (temperature, wind,
humidity, pressure, precipitation)
• Sky imager

24
 Measurement Technologies
Thermopile Silicon Photovoltaic
• Based on the thermoelectric effect • Based on the photoelectric effect
• Broad spectrum blackbody absorber • Narrow spectrum sensitivity
• Voltage output • Current output (converts to voltage with a
• Susceptible to soiling (because of protective shunt resistor)
optics) • Less susceptible to soiling
• Higher cost • Lower cost

25
Instrumentation
Pyranometers
Pyrheliometer
(Eppley NIP)
(requires separate
tracker)

K&Z CMP22
Offset
compensation
Rotating
Shadowband
Radiometer LI-COR LI-200
Measures GHI, DNH,
Low cost silicon
Calculates DNI

Eppley 8-48
Low cost; Often
Campbell-Stokes used for diffuse
Sunshine Recorder
26
How Do I Choose an instrument?

27
 How Do I Choose an instrument?
What are your requirements?

• Measurement Uncertainty (How much

accuracy does your application need?)
• Measurement speed (What is my
integration time; instantaneous?)
• Spectral Response (Is broadband
necessary, or will silicon suffice?)
• Ease of Maintenance (Can I keep to
the necessary maintenance schedule?)
• Cost (What is reasonable?)
• Calibration Interval (Will the
instrument hold calibration; can I
afford to have it out of service?)

Habte, A.; Wilcox, S.; Stoffel, T. (2014). Evaluation of Radiometers

Deployed at the National Renewable Energy Laboratory's Solar
Radiation Research Laboratory. 187 pp.; NREL Report No. TP-5D00-
60896.
http://www.nrel.gov/docs/fy09osti/60896.pdf

28
Calibrations
Calibrations
“Calibration is a comparison of an output
signal with a measurement standard
traceable to a recognized standard to
identify and eliminate deviations in
accuracy.”

• One instrument has known characteristics of

uncertainty (the standard instrument)
• The other has an unknown or lesser uncertainty
(the unit under test).
• The comparison yields calibration results, when
applied to the unit under test, produces a
corrected reading that agrees with the standard
(with a stated uncertainty).
• The standard will have known and traceable
characteristics (uncertainty) relative to a
consensus reference.

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Calibrations
The Solar Reference is linked to the International System of
units (SI) through the World Radiometric Reference.
The standard for solar measurements (DNI) is the World Radiometric
Reference, derived from a consensus set of instruments in Davos,
Switzerland at the World Radiation Center (the World Standard Group).

• The World Standard Group has a long and well-

characterized history, and is comprised of
instruments from several manufacturers and
technologies. Currently the WSG has six
instruments.
• The WRR is derived statistically from the World
Standard Group based on individual instrument
performance.
• The estimated uncertainty of the WRR is about
±0.3% with respect to SI.
• The standard for global and diffuse is calculated
from the DNI World Radiometric Reference in Davos, Switzerland

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Calibrations

• An International
Pyrheliometer Comparison
(IPC) is held in Davos
every five years to transfer
the WRR to participating
countries.

• NREL Pyrheliometer
Comparison (NPC) is held
in Golden, CO every year
to transfer calibration to
participants

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Calibrations

Traceability
“property of a measurement result whereby the result can be
related to a reference through a documented unbroken chain
of calibrations, each contributing to the measurement
uncertainty."

International Standard Organization VIM, 3rd ed., definition 2.41, 2012

33
Calibrations: Solar Measurement Traceabilty

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Calibrations: Reference Instruments

Cavity Radiometers Are Usually

Chosen for Reference Solar
•Reference instruments with potentially
lowest uncertainty.
•Self calibrating, though must still be
traceable to WRR.
•Typically fair-weather instruments
without a window (absolute), though
can be operated in all conditions with
a weather-proof window.
•Expensive and delicate; require expert
operation.
•Require a separate controller and data
Cavity Radiometers Being Compared for
Traceability to the World Radiometric Reference acquisition

35
Calibrations

• Pyrheliometers are compared directly with

the DNI from the cavity to determine a
calibration coefficient
• A simple comparison between two
instruments

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Calibrations
Component Sum Calibrations
We create global reference from DNI, zenith angle , and diffuse.

Diffuse DNI

Global Reference =
DNI * cos(Z) + Diffuse

The global reference has

greater uncertainty than
the DNI.

Schematic of Component Sum Calibration

37
Calibrations
Advantages of Component Sum Calibration
• The simple calculated global reference allows easy
simultaneous calibration of large numbers of instruments.
• Reference and test instruments are sampled simultaneously.
• No “moving parts” (no need to shade the instrument)
– Less labor intensive
– All-day calibrations
are more practical
• Instruments under
test are in relative
equilibrium (no
thermal shock from
constant shade/
unshade).
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Calibrations
NREL maintains ISO* 17025 certification for its calibration
processes.
• ISO is the world's largest developer and publisher of International
Standards

NREL is expected to –
• Maintain high quality traceable results
• Use peer reviewed quality/calibration procedure
• Provide Nationally/Internationally accepted calibration
• Undergo periodic audits
• Use controlled process for continuous improvement and early detection of
problems/solutions
• Provide consistent reporting of calibration results and associated
uncertainties

*International Organization for Standardization http://www.iso.org/iso/home/about.htm

39
Calibrations
How Often Should You Calibrate?

• Interval can be based on manufacturers

recommendations
• Can be based on your own experience
• NREL recommends annual calibrations for radiometers
– Some radiometers age at more than 3% per year
– Radiometers can malfunction without total failure (malfunction
may not be obvious)
– A more conservative approach minimizes the chance of error
(especially for a campaign lasting only a year or two).

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Uncertainty and Data Quality
Assessment
Goal

• Develop a consensus standard to estimate

radiometric data uncertainty using the Guide
to the expression of uncertainty in
measurement (GUM) method.
 At present the tendency is to look at
instrument datasheets and take the instrument
calibration uncertainty as the measurement
uncertainty.

42
Calibration and Measurement Uncertainty
• NREL radiometer calibrations are done outdoors. Calibration
certificate reports the calibration results under specific
environmental conditions that are different from conditions in
the field.
• In field deployments, add uncertainties due to
o Environmental effects (temperature, wind, atmos. constituents)
o Calibration
o Spectral Response
o Zenith Angle
o Maintenance----Soiling (dust, rain, birds)
o Data logger uncertainty
o Temperature dependence
o Non-linearity
o Aging

43
Calibration and Measurement Uncertainty
ASTM Standard (under development): Standard Guide for Evaluating Uncertainty in
Calibration and Field Measurements of Broadband Irradiance with Pyranometers and
Pyrheliometers
Excel® spreadsheet- Radiometric Data Uncertainty Estimate Using GUM method
The spreadsheet provides a comprehensive estimation of measurement uncertainty
associated with measurands using GUM method. http://www.nrel.gov/midc/srrl_bms/

44
Data Quality Assessment
Data quality is a function of your knowledge of
the measurement environment and
infrastructure.

1. Data quality is fixed (unchangeable)

at the time a measurement is taken.
2. No amount of “quality control” after
the fact can improve the fundamental
data quality.
3. Data sets without good
documentation are of unknown
quality.

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Data Quality Assessment
The Quality Assurance Cycle

Data
Acquisition

Quality Analysis/
Assessment Feedback

46
Data Quality Assessment

Quality Assessment is not Quality Control

• Quality Assessment Requires Judgment and

Analysis. This happens after the measurements.

• Quality Control is a Supervisory Process. This

happens before and during the measurements.

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Data Quality Assessment

Expected Values in Data Quality Assessment

1. When performing our data quality assessment, we
want to examine a measurement in the context of
an expected value.
2. We want to reduce the range of expected values as
much as possible.

48
Data Quality Assessment
SERI QC: An Empirical Approach
Operates in K-space: Fraction of Possible Irradiance

Variable Definition
Kt Global / (ETRN * cos (Z))
Kn Direct / ETRN
Kd Diffuse / (ETRN * cos(Z))

Kt = Kn + Kd
ETRN = Extraterrestrial Radiation Normal to the Sun (DNI above the atmosphere)
K space subscripts: t = total (global), n = normal (DNI), d = diffuse
49
Data Quality Assessment
Top of Atmosphere
Extraterrestrial (ETR)
ETR Measurement

Kt= Ground/ETR
Kt is usually between 0.0 and 1.0

But not always…

Kt can occasionally exceed ETR for short
periods, usually due to cloud reflections.
Ground Measurement

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 Reducing the Area of Expected Values
Two Dimension K-space Template
1.0 All data in outer
space would plot
But never here here
0.8

0.6
Atmospheric effects
Kn

(attenuation) plot
0.4 data here.

0.2

0.0
0.0 0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8 1.0
Kt
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Reducing the Area of Expected Values
Maximum Kt and Kn
1.0
Kn Max

0.8

0.6
Kn

0.4

0.2
Kt Max

0.0
0.0 0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8 1.0
Kt
52
Reducing the Area of Expected Values
Example Data (High Quality)

53
Reducing the Area of Expected Values
Example Data (Poor Quality)

54
Reducing the Area of Expected Values
Parameterizing the Envelope with
The Gompertz Function

Kn is a function of Kt such that:

δKt
Ɣß
Kn = αß

Where α, ß, Ɣ, and δ are variable parameters

55
 Reducing the Area of Expected Values
Examples Using QCFIT
Austin, Texas
U of T Network
Sep 1998-2002
5-minute Resolution

Eugene, Oregon
U of O Network
Jun 1999-2000
60-minute Resolution

56
Reducing the Area of Expected Values

Three Component Data

With three component data, the expected relationship
between the three measurements is unambiguous.

KЄ = Kt - Kn - Kd
Ideally KЄ = 0
• Any non-zero value of KЄ indicates some
disagreement among instruments.
• KЄ = 0 could occur with errors if errors cancel.
• Errors cancelling uniformly throughout a day are
not likely

57
Reducing the Area of Expected Values
The two component analysis is useful for
checking three component data.

58
Daily Quality Checks

SERI QC Cylinder Plots

Days of the Month

•A full month of data and quality
flags at a glance
•Shows data for each of the three
solar components
•Errors become instantly evident.
•You can correlate flags with
irradiance values
•You can view the three
components in context with
each other.
Hours of the Day

59
Daily Quality Checks
Tracker Failure June 6 and 7
Low Kn High Kd

High SERI
QC flags.

60
Feedback
• Feedback to station operators is a critical component
o When operators know that data are being examined, they
are more likely to do a good job.
o Regular feedback keeps data quality in the forefront.
• Feedback is not just problem reports
o Feedback should include positive reports of a job well-done
o With a well-run network, problem reports (negative
feedback) should be a small exception.

Data
Acquisition

Quality Analysis/
Assessment Feedback

61
Station Maintenance
Data Quality: Routine Maintenance
The Rationale for Maintenance

• A manufacturer’s instrument uncertainty is usually stated with the

assumption of well-maintained environmental conditions (e.g. kept clean,
aligned, calibrated)
• Uncertainty will increase as the environment degrades measurement
conditions (e.g. soiling, temperature extremes, equipment failures).
• Compromised measurements can occur within minutes and may not be easily
detectable (may “look” normal, but aren’t). These marginal effects can persist
for days, months, or years if not detected.

Frost crystals on LI-COR pyranometer

63
Data Quality: Routine Maintenance
How often is maintenance required to maintain the best
quality data?
• Daily to every other day for domed and windowed instruments
(which tend to soil faster)
• Weekly to every other week for diffuser instruments (LI-COR, RSR),
which tend to soil slower.
• More often after unusual weather events (high winds, rain, snow,
frost, etc.)
• Some manufacturers recommend weekly cleaning for windowed
instruments. Some don’t maintain diffuser instruments at all.
• Our recommendations are conservative. Although instruments may
remain clean between daily cleanings, the more frequent protocol
is designed to minimize corruption of the data. You want to be able
to defend data quality.
• With experience, some locations may suffice with less frequent
cleanings (but some additional uncertainty should be added).
Conversely, some may require more frequent cleaning.

64
Data Quality: Routine Maintenance
Cleaning Issues
GHI Increases 1.5%
DNI Increases 5%
Typical cleaning event after ten days
(Windowed instruments)
A knowledgeable critic
will assume that these
conditions exist in your
data set unless you can
show otherwise with a
well documented
maintenance protocol.

Insect webs on instrument (no cleaning schedule)

• Avoid doubt
Both DNI and GHI • Avoid hard questions
Increase by 3.5%
• Avoid having to make
a lot of excuses or
explanations.
Design a robust
maintenance protocol
and keep good Difficult to clean insect droppings (a small, but
Atypical cleaning event after five days documentation. significant effect on measurement)
(RSR)

65
Data Quality: Routine Maintenance

• As a rule, it is better to not seek volunteers.

• Plan for maintenance costs in future budget.
• Follow-up training for maintenance people
should be provided as necessary.
• Training should include reality that mistakes and
data problems occur.
• The trainer should provide contact information
(telephone and email) and encourage good
communications.

66
 Maintenance Documentation
At a Minimum, Documentation
Should Include
• Date and time of station visit
• Name of person doing
maintenance
• A checklist of EACH instrument
and associated support equipment
(e.g. not only anemometer, but
tower and guy wires)
• Keys to any codes (e.g. clouds)
• A place for free-hand comments
(unusual circumstances not
encountered in checklist).

Keep a complete record of observations and conditions for each station visit.
This shows not only problems discovered, but it provides good evidence the
station was confirmed in excellent condition most of the time .

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Measurement Station Siting
and Deployment
Station Design Considerations

Collecting useful (accurate) solar resource data requires careful

design and implementation of a measurement station.

Errors in the design

stage of a measurement
campaign can lead to
serious analytical
problems in the future.

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Targeted Measurement Area
• Ideally, the measurement area should be concurrent with or close to the
area of interest, but MUST be representative of the area of interest.
• Some spatial offset (distance) can be tolerated, but it depends on the local
climate and terrain. Lower variability in terrain and climate generally
means lower solar variability at a distance.
• More complex terrain (mountains, valleys, bodies of water) can mean
more variability in the solar resource.

Measurement

Background source: Google Earth

T1 T2
15 km 15 km

In this example, transferring the measurement to Target-1 may be adequate, but maybe not for
Target-2.

70
Spatial Variability
Variability is Variable

Maps showing spatial

variability across the United
States based on variance
within a 30x30 km or 50x50
km matrix. Variability ranges
from a fraction of a percent to
greater than 5%.

Variability generally increases

with distance. Monthly
variability is greater.

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Complicating Factors
The need for spatially
concurrent data must be
weighed against other factors
• Availability of power, communications,
and access for routine maintenance. Each
of these limitations can be usually be
overcome, but each can have
considerable cost.
• Local sources of dust—for example a
nearby dirt road with heavy traffic—can
introduce error. Moving the station a few
hundred meters away could improve
resulting data significantly.

72
Complicating Factors

• In metropolitan areas, consider

sources of radio frequency
interference. Sensors produce a
signal of only a few millivolts;
strong interference could cause
unwanted noise.
• High locations with no
obstructions may also host high
powered transmitters. Consider
harmful effects on humans
working at the station.
73
 Nearby Obstructions
• Trees, buildings, power poles can cast
shadows on the instruments, interfering
with measurements that are intended to
represent the resource at the target area.
Even the best measurements from the
best instruments will be degraded by
nearby shading, and may impose a
large uncertainty in the data.
• Nearby objects may also reflect sunlight
onto the sensor, resulting in an
overestimation of the solar resource.
• Nearby mountains may shade the
instruments, but may be a legitimate
obstacle if the same shading occurs at the
target area.

74
 Nearby Obstructions

•Tools exist to
calculate the sun’s
location along the
horizon throughout
the year.
•This will help
determine if an
object will be a
problem with DNI
measurements.

University of Oregon Sun Path Chart Program

http://solardat.uoregon.edu/SunChartProgram.html

75
Station Accessibility and Security

Measurement stations hold very valuable

equipment.
• Such equipment is not the typical target of thieves, but they
may mistakenly believe the equipment has broad resale
value
• Vandals are a more likely problem; vandals care less about
what they’re destroying than the act of destruction itself
and causing problems for the owner.

76
Power Requirements- Ground and Shielding
Reliable data acquisition requires reliable
power for equipment.
Some applications cannot tolerate data gaps. These may require
backup battery power or Uninterruptable Power Supply (UPS).
Remote applications distant from the grid will require
a local power supply (PV, wind, or petroleum
generator).
PV systems with batteries should be sized to sustain power for several
days of clouds and shorter winter days.Test backup systems regularly
Station equipment needs to be protected from
lightning strikes and shielded from radio frequency
interference.

77
Data Communications
Data should be collected as soon as possible after
acquisition.
• Data quality assessment methods are more effective with
more rapid data turnaround.
• The potential for data loss increases when a data set sits in
memory on the logger.

One minute updates are

technically feasible with cell
phone modems.
• Real-time updates may be
posted on the internet at one-
minute intervals.
• Rapid updates may not be
practical in areas with poor cell
phone connectivity.
78
 Station Validation
• Confirm proper station performance
with reference instruments.
• Verify correct installation (a
complicated process; many things
can go wrong)
• Document all equipment—”If it isn’t
documented, it didn’t happen…”
• Train maintenance personnel
• Establish a baseline condition for
future evaluations.
Commissioning Report – with Equipment Lists, Photographs, Validation plots

79
Station Setup Key Points
• Choose a location representative of your target
area
• Assure good solar access; avoid shading
• Design for easy access and a safe operations
• Provide for adequate site security
• Plan for reliable power
• Ground for equipment protection and low noise
• Set up reliable and fast data communications
• Validate installation for baseline performance

80
Resources

NREL Solar Radiation Research Lab

• http://www.nrel.gov/solar_radiation/facilities.html

Best Practices Handbook for the Collection and Use of Solar

Resource Data
• http://www.nrel.gov/docs/fy15osti/63112.pdf

81
Introduction to Satellite Resource
Assessment
Topics for discussion

• Introduction to Satellite Resource

Assessment
• Developing Datasets for India
• Validation using Ground Station Data
• Dissemination and Uses (discussed in later
session)

83
What does Satellite Based Resource Assessment Provide?

• Long-term datasets covering large areas at high

temporal and spatial resolution.
• Satellite instrument calibrated daily provides
uniform measurements.
• Only source of long-term data for various studies
(currently 2000-2014 for India).
• Source of data for performance models such as
SAM, PVWatts etc.

84
 What Impacts Satellite Measurements (looking from the top)?

Meteosat Channel 1: 0.45-1 μm - Visible channel impacted by sunlight reflected from cloud or ground.

Clear Sky Cloudy Sky

First Order: First Order:
Surface reflectivity (albedo) Cloud reflectivity (albedo)
Second Order: Second Order:
Aerosols Upper atmospheric water vapor

Surface Reflectivity: Dynamically calculated using darkest pixel from 30 day moving average of
satellite scenes. Snow cover determined using observations. Climatological land database
used for extreme events like 30 days of continuous cloudiness (rarely happens).

Meteosat Channel 3: 10.5-12.5 μm – Infrared channel only influenced by temperature (height) of clouds
and surface in clear sky situations.

Cloudy Sky
Clear Sky
First Order:
First Order:
Cloud top temperature
Surface temperature
Second Order:
Second Order:
None
Water vapor content
85
What Impacts GHI & DNI – i.e. Sunlight Reaching the Surface?

Clear Sky Cloudy Sky

First Order: First Order:
Aerosols, Mixed gases (Rayleigh) Cloud optical thickness
Second Order: Second Order:
Water vapor, ozone Water Vapor
Lower order: Lower order:
None Aerosols, Surface Reflectivity

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Meteosat 1st Generation: Meteosat 7 for Resource Assessment

3 channels:
Image Band VIS WV IR
spectral range 0.45-1.0 um 5.7-7.1 um 10.5-12.5 um
resolution at nadir 2.5 km 5.0 km 5.0 km

Indian Ocean Data Coverage (IODC)

Meteosat-5,6,7 provides the Indian Ocean Data Coverage (IODC) service. The current
near real-time data are rectified to 57deg E.

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 How is surface radiation modeled from satellites?

•Empirical Approach:
–Build model relating satellite measurements and ground
observations.
–Use those models to obtain solar radiation at the surface
from satellite measurements.

• Semi-Empirical Approach:
–Retrieve “cloud index” using counts from visible satellite
measurements
–Use clear sky radiative transfer models and scale by
cloud index

•Physical Approach:
–Retrieve cloud and aerosol information from satellites
–Use the information in a radiative transfer model
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Developing the datasets for India
The Satellite Based Solar Radiation Product

• Developed using the Semi-Empirical Approach

• Uses the visible channel of Meteosat (5, 6 and
7) satellites at 10 km resolution
• Hourly data
• Currently covers 2000-2014
• Validation in collaboration with NIWE
(planned); other partners are always welcome

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 Steps in the Semi-Empirical Approach

• Scale visible satellite counts by solar zenith angle

• Develop a dynamic of values for the satellite counts that
represent the clear to cloudy range
• Identify a clear sky radiative transfer model (preferably a fast
model) to calculate clear sky GHI and DNI
• Develop inputs for the clear sky model from ancillary source
(primarily aerosol optical depth and precipitable water
vapor)
• Calculate the cloud index from the satellite counts
• Scale the clear sky GHI by the cloud index
• Calculate DNI from GHI using an empirical conversion model.

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Creating Dynamic Range

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 Calculating the Clear Sky GHI and DNI

SOLIS Model: Used to compute GHIclear and DNIclear

Simplified Clear Sky model developed by Ineichen (2006,2008)

Incorporates effect of :
Precipitable water
Site elevation
Solar zenith angle
Aerosol attenuation
Ineichen, P., (2006): Comparison of eight clear sky broadband models against 16
independent data banks, Solar Energy 80, 4, pp. 468-478
Ineichen P., (2008): A broadband simplified version of the Solis clear sky model. Solar
Energy, 82, 8, pp. 758-762

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 Basic principle

F+G = a – b F-TOA
F+TOA F+TOA

Cloud Index Clearness Index

Richard Perez, et al.

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Calculating Cloud Index and GHI

CI = (UB – CCC) / (UB – LB)

UB = Counts Upper Bound
LB = Counts Lower Bound
CCC = Counts Cosine Corrected

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DNI Estimation from GHI
Historical background
• Most radiometric stations in the world measured GHI only; some additionally measured DIF
• Systematic measurement of DNI with pyrheliometers or RSRs is recent
• Liu & Jordan (1960) first suggested a statistical relationship between DIF and GHI, allowing the estimation
of DIF and DNI
• Main predictor: Kt = I / I0 [“clearness index”; removes a large part of the dependence of GHI on Z]
• I0: ET irradiance on the horizontal ⩧ Solar constant corrected for actual sun-earth distance
• Three possible forms used in the literature:
K = Id / I = f(Kt)
Kd = Id / I0 = g(Kt)
Kn = In / I0n = h(Kt)
• All are mathematically equivalent, because I = Id + In cosZ and I0 = I0n cosZ):
Kd = K / Kt
Kn = Kt – Kd

Significant developments in “Separation models”

• Addition of other predictors: Z, PW, albedo, sunshine
• Consideration of persistence in the GHI daily record to separate clear and cloudy periods
• Aggregation of datasets from many different climates for a “universal” relationship
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DNI Estimation from GHI
Temporal effects
• Relatively good correlation
for long time steps, e.g.,
monthly values

• Cloud effects become

increasingly dominant when
time step shortens

• Erbs model (1982) used to

derive DNI and DIF in various
datasets, e.g., NASA/SSE

• Perez model (1992) used in

some commercial datasets
(SUNY/CPR, GeoModel,
3Tier…) [DIRINT MODEL]

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DNI Estimation from GHI
Validation
• Many validation studies exist, e.g.,
http://www.solarconsultingservices.com/Gueymard-DNI_models_validation-ASES10.pdf
• Strong scatter (noise) at hourly or sub-hourly time scales
• Most empirical models do not consider effects due to high ground albedo, haze, cloud
enhancement…
• More physical models would be needed

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Surface Albedo Effects
First effect: backscattering
• The incident radiation reflected by the earth’s surface is backscattered in part by the atmosphere (more
strongly if cloudy), and increases the diffuse component (DIF)—and hence GHI
• The magnitude of this process is normally small, but can become large if snowy ground under low overcast
sky (whiteout phenomenon)
• The surface albedo to consider is the average over an area ≈20 km around the location under scrutiny
• Albedo of various surfaces differ significantly, both for spectral and broadband radiation

Second effect: local reflections

• To be considered when calculating GTI or GNI on tilted surfaces
• Albedo of many surfaces is nearly Lambertian (isotropic)
• Important exceptions do exist (e.g., sand): sun-tilted surface
or sun-ground-satellite geometry is important
• At grazing angles, reflection on water or ice becomes specular

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Sources of Atmospheric Data
Water vapor
• Measured in terms of “precipitable water”
• Most common unit: cm
• Other units: mm, kg/m2, g/cm3 [1 mm ⩧ 1 kg/m2; 1 cm ⩧ 1 g/cm3]
• Relatively high in tropical environment but there is seasonal as well
as locational variability

Precipitable water: Annual average for 2009 (CFSR reanalysis)

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Sources of Atmospheric Data
Water vapor
• Water vapor has spatial variations and temporal variations
(daily, seasonal, interannual)
• Many sources of data:
o Ground observations:
– GPS (meteorological services, IGS network, …)
– Sunphotometers (AERONET network, …)
o Radiosondes (meteorological services)
o Satellite observations (MODIS, SSMI…)
o Satellite-derived products (CM-SAF…)
o Reanalysis (MERRA, CFSR…)
• Spatial and temporal resolutions vary!
• Usual problem of observations:
missing data!

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Sources of Atmospheric Data
Aerosols: Ground observations
• Main world network: AERONET,
http://aeronet.gsfc.nasa.gov/
• Many stations, but most were short lived
• Cimel sunphotometer: 7 channels for
AOD(λ), 1 channel for PW All stations

• Automatic tracking and operation, post-

treatment to remove cloud-contaminated
data
• More stations are desirable in India

>5 years

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Sources of Atmospheric Data
Aerosols: Satellite observations vs. Modeled data

MODIS-Terra MODIS-Aqua MISR

SeaWiFS GOCART model MACC model

Long-term mean annual AOD at 550 nm
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Aerosol Effects on Irradiance
Effect of using monthly-average AOD data on the modeled daily irradiance
• Ignoring the daily variability in AOD leads to incorrect estimates of daily and hourly DNI or GHI
• Risk of stepped changes at monthly seams: small for GHI, significant for DNI

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Aerosol Effects on Irradiance
Effect of using monthly-average AOD data on the modeled daily irradiance
• DNI is affected much more than GHI
• Effects on GTI would be intermediate
• This is detrimental to the correct performance simulation of CSP systems and their bankability
• The DNI frequency distribution is skewed differently at sunny and cloudy sites, both on hourly and
daily time scales
• The mean monthly or annual DNI is not a sufficient statistic to describe the DNI resource

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Statistical Properties of Aerosol Data
Frequency distributions of AOD
• AOD (at any wavelength) follows a log-normal distribution
• Log(τaλ) follows a normal distribution
• Flattening of the distribution when mean AOD increases

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 Sources of Uncertainty

• The lower bound of dynamic range is a

function of the ground reflectivity (the albedo)
• Albedo is variable over time
• Albedo is a function of both sun-earth and
sun-satellite geometry.

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Sources of Uncertainty

• Higher occurrence of variability of clouds

• Higher concentration and dynamics of aerosols and
water vapor
• Mountainous terrain, high elevation and deep valleys.
• Coastal Zones and regions with mixed land and water
patterns
• Urban and Industrial Environments
• Snow and high-albedo surfaces (salt-beds, white sand
areas)

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Dissemination and Uses
 Meteorological data for India
Accurate meteorological data for use in the India dataset

• Various Reanalysis Datasets

compared with ground (A)
measurements (Integrated (B)

Surface Database (ISD)) to

identify best data.

• NASA Modern Era-

Retrospective Analysis
(MERRA) dataset, NOAA’s (D)
North American Regional
Reanalysis (NARR) dataset and
(C)
NOAA’s Climate Forecast
System Reanalysis (CFSR)
compared.
Comparison between ISD and MERRA, CFSR and NARR dataset for Denver International Airport. (A)
• MERRA found to be the most Dew Point, (B) Preciptable Water, (C) Atmospheric Pressure and (D) Wind Speed comparison

accurate.
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The datasets on the web

• Hourly and TMY datasets are freely available

from NREL’s website
• Website: http://nsrdb.nrel.gov
• Downloadable pixel by pixel or regions
• Plans to distribute the full dataset using
Amazon cloud services.
• No restrictions on data except providing
acknowledgement to NREL/USDOE and
MNRE

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 Typical Meteorological Year
Based on Hall, Prairie, Anderson, and Boes (Sandia National Labs)

A Typical Meteorological Year is a single year of data

that represents the climate in a longer term data set.
Useful for fast simulations using
minimum data
• Start with a multi-year data set (15-
30 years)
• Build cumulative distribution
functions for each conglomerated
month (e.g. 30 Januarys, 30
Februarys, etc) for the entire pool of
data
• Build CDfs for each individual month
• Compare individual monthly CDFs
with long-term monthly CDFs using
Finkelstein-Schafer (FS) statistic
• Select the month with the best match (with other factors)

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Regional applicability of ground measurements

Bijapur

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 Summary

• Datasets freely available on the web for all users.

• Both solar and ancillary information is available.
• Hourly and TMY data is available for all locations.
• Satellite based data can determine the use of a
ground station for surrounding regions.
• Measurement at certain locations maybe more
applicable to other surrounding locations than
others.
• Additional GIS based tools can make the data more
useful for various stakeholders.

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 Thank You!
Questions?
Contact: manajit@nrel.gov

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