SOLAR RESOURCE ASSESSMENT AND SITE EVALUATION USING REMOTE SENSING METHODS

In this paper we describe and compare two methods used by the University of Oldenburg and DLR Stuttgart to calculate surface solar irradiance from METEOSAT 7 imagery. We examine the consistency of the two methods and compare the results with ground measured data. As a result we show the differences between the methods and the errors relative to ground measurements. The benefit of such satellite derived solar irradiance is shown by a brief presentation of two example applications. Finally an outlook is given into potential improvements resulting from the enhanced possibilities of the METEOSAT Second Generation (MSG) satellite which is due to start in 2002.