Solar Energy Potential Assessment in the Algerian South Area: Case of Ghardaïa Region

Due to its geographical position in the solar belt, Algeria is blessed with an abundance of solar energy and has the opportunity to utilize this bounty of natural energy effectively, promoting a clean environment and developing renewable energy technologies in the region. This paper assesses and analyses the solar energy potential in Ghardaïa area (south Algeria) to help users for solar energy applications. A database of solar radiation components has been employed for this purpose. The data presented in the paper are compared with other data supplied by renowned regional and international establishments, such as the solar atlas for the Mediterranean and the NASA. The frequency and the hourly distribution of solar radiation components indicate that the region is considered as an economical area and favorable for solar applications, such as the photovoltaic and the concentrating solar power (CSP) technologies. In addition to solar radiation, data of two functions, namely, clearness index and sunshine fraction have been examined; their results specify that the site has a clear sky conditions in most time of the year. In general, the obtained results illustrate that the site under consideration can use solar energy as a promising solution to conventional energy

A comprehensive review of hybrid models for solar radiation forecasting

Solar radiation components assessment is a highly required parameter for solar energy applications. Due to the non-stationary behavior of solar radiation parameters and variety of atmosphere conditions, stand-alone forecasting models are insufficient for providing accurate estimation in some cases. In this respect, different hybrid models have been proposed in recent years to overcome the limitations of single models and boost the forecasting precision. In this paper, acomprehensive literature review of the recent trends in hybrid model techniques for solar radiation components assessment is presented. The main objective behind this study is to present a comparative study between different hybrid models, explore their application, and identify promising and potential models for solar radiation application assessment. The performance ranking of each hybrid model is complicated due the diversity of the data length and scale, forecasting horizon, performance metrics, time step and climate condition. Overall, the presented study provides preliminary guidelines for a complete view of the hybrid models and tools that can be used in order to improve solar radiation assessment

Impact of DNI nowcasting on annual revenues of CSP plants for a time of delivery based feed in tariff

The impact of a combined nowcast for direct normal irradiation on revenues of two different concentrating solar power plant technologies under a time-of delivery-tariff is investigated. The nowcasts merge several satellite and NWP based nowcasts together with a smart persistence approach in order to generate a best-of nowcast for all now- and forecast time horizons up to 9 hours and in a 15 min temporal resolution. The applied tariff scheme is similar to that used in South Africa for some of the CSP plants erected in that country with considerably increased remuneration during the evening hours with maximum energy demand. The study investigates the impact both with respect to the annual energy yield and the economic annual revenues of CSP plants. The results for the combined nowcast are compared with results using ECMWF IFS based DNI forecasts which are commercially available for plant operators as well as with a persistence approach and the ideal forecast derived from ground-based observations