Solar Monitoring in Project PrédiSol

The direct spatial and temporal correlation between satellite images and ground measurements will help in adjusting or modifying the model parameters in order to make to make the most of existing maps for the entire Arabian Peninsula.

The joint efforts will result in a methodology to accurately estimate solar resources that can be used by Concentrated Solar Power (CSP) or Concentrated Photovoltaic (CPV) plants and will also help decision making and to minimize the financial risks associated with the development of solar energy projects.

For the PrédiSol project, Bertin has developed a high quality solar monitoring station that includes a Kipp & Zonen SOLYS 2 sun tracker with shading ball assembly, two CMP 11 pyranometers, for global and diffuse solar radiation measurement, and a CHP 1 pyrheliometer for DNI (direct normal irradiance). The choice of these sensors is a technical and economic optimum which allows Bertin to test their satellite data processing algorithms by comparison with high quality intra-hourly ground-based measurements. The response time of the radiometers, to achieve a data sampling rate suitable to provide relevant statistical information, was also a selection criterion.

The first solar monitoring station was successfully put into operation in January 2012 in Madinat Zayed in the United Arab Emirates. Bertin Technologies has been providing service and technology development in the Renewable Energy sector for many years. It is known for its strong knowledge of data acquisition and weather instrumentation, especially solar radiation instruments, and the specific treatment of these measurements.