Solar Resource Assessment over Kuwait: Validation of Satellite-derived Data and Reanalysis Modeling

摘要

The Kuwait Institute of Scientific Research (KISR) has been mandated to develop a first industrial complexrnof wind, PV and CSP systems at Shagaya, Kuwait. To that end, KISR is also engaged in a full-fledgedrnresource assessment program, based on both ground-based observations and extensive modeling. In thisrnstudy, ground observations of solar radiation at 5 sites are compared to modeled predictions from variousrnsources. These include a 19-year time series of GHI and DNI obtained from GeoModel’s SolarGIS satelliternmodel, a 35-year GHI time series from NASA’s MERRA reanalysis model, and a 23-year monthlyrnclimatology of GHI and DNI from NASA’s SSE database. The long-term monthly mean GHI valuesrnobtained from MERRA and site-adapted SolarGIS show reasonable agreement. In contrast, the variousrnpredictions of GHI from the raw SolarGIS and the SSE GHI data, as well as most predictions of DNI, exhibitrnsignificant differences, likely because of diverging estimates of aerosol effects. The SolarGIS time series isrnsignificantly improved by its site adaptation. When derived from either MERRA or SolarGIS, both the GHIrninter-annual variability and its long-term trend disagree substantially, which requires additional scrutiny.