K.A.CARE was established in 2010 with the fundamental aim of building a sustainable future for Saudi Arabia by developing a substantial alternative energy capacity fully supported by world-class local industries. The Kingdom enjoys plentiful sunlight throughout the year, and has one of the highest insolation rates in the world. As a result, a major plank of K.A.CARE’s renewable energy program will be the implementation of clean, cost-effective solar energy technologies with the aim of helping meet peak demands, especially during the summer months, by recommending to generate a total of 41GW by 2032. The solar resource monitoring network and the Renewable Resource Atlas of Saudi Arabia are the first steps towards Saudi Arabia’s sustainable future.
By early 2014, over 70 solar resource monitoring stations will be deployed throughout the Kingdom. The majority of these stations are equipped with Kipp & Zonen instruments such as the CMP 21 pyranometer with the CVF4 ventilation unit and the CHP 1 pyrheliometer.
The network includes three tiers of station types with varying levels of measurement capabilities. All Tier 1 stations comply with the measurement practices described in the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) Baseline Surface Radiation Network (BSRN) Operations Manual. The Tier 1 research stations include a SOLYS 2 sun tracker, two CMP 21 pyranometers ventilated with the CVF4, one CHP1 pyrheliometer and a ventilated CGR 4 pyrgeometer.
More information on station tiers can be found on the K.A.CARE website: https://rratlas.kacare.gov.sa/RRMMPublicPortal/?q=en/Solar/StationTiers
Collectively, the stations characterize the three components of solar radiation (direct normal irradiance [DNI], global horizontal irradiance [GHI], and diffuse horizontal irradiance [DHI]), plus related meteorological and dust parameters.
The stations are operated and maintained on a rigorous schedule, under the supervision of K.A.CARE, and in partnership with universities, technical colleges and institutes, and government agency partners.
In December 2013 King Abdullah City for Atomic and Renewable Energy (K.A.CARE) presented the Renewable Resource Atlas of Saudi Arabia in support of the achievement of a sustainable energy mix. The Atlas provides newly collected and historical solar and wind resource monitoring data, plus satellite-based modeled data, for use by developers, researchers, government institutions, and policy-makers. The network of solar resource monitoring stations contributes to the Renewable Resource Atlas of Saudi Arabia.
The U.S. National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) and its partner Battelle supported K.A.CARE with the distribution of the monitoring stations, helping officials decide where to place the stations. They also helped with the site selection, installation and training of local engineers.
Source: https://rratlas.kacare.gov.sa/RRMMPublicPortal/?q=en/Home