Photovoltaic power potential in West Africa using long-term satellite data

Neher, Ina; Crewell, Susanne; Meilinger, Stefanie; Pfeifroth, Uwe; Trentmann, Jörg

doi:https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-20-12871-2020

Articles | Volume 20, issue 21

https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-20-12871-2020

© Author(s) 2020. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.

https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-20-12871-2020

© Author(s) 2020. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.

Articles | Volume 20, issue 21

Research article

|

05 Nov 2020

Research article |

| 05 Nov 2020

Photovoltaic power potential in West Africa using long-term satellite data

Ina Neher, Susanne Crewell, Stefanie Meilinger, Uwe Pfeifroth, and Jörg Trentmann

Data sets

Surface Radiation Data Set U. Pfeifroth, S. Kothe, J. Trentmann, R. Hollmann, P. Fuchs, J. Kaise, and M. Werscheck https://doi.org/10.5676/EUM_SAF_CM/SARAH/V002_01

AMMA database AMMA https://baobab.sedoo.fr/AMMA

Short summary

Photovoltaic power is one current option to meet the rising energy demand with low environmental impact. Global horizontal irradiance (GHI) is the fuel for photovoltaic power installations and needs to be evaluated to plan and dimension power plants. In this study, 35 years of satellite-based GHI data are analyzed over West Africa to determine their impact on photovoltaic power generation. The major challenges for the development of a solar-based power system in West Africa are then outlined.