Solar potential analysis over Indian cities using high-resolution satellite imagery and DEM
This work addresses the need for more accurate solar energy planning in Indian cities, though it is incremental as it builds on existing methods with higher-resolution data.
The study tackled the problem of inaccurate rooftop solar potential estimation in urban areas by using high-resolution satellite imagery (0.5 cm) and DEM (1m) to account for factors like shadows and roof structures, finding that these inputs produce more authentic results and that electricity generation losses can reach up to 50% due to seasonal and technical factors.
Most of the research work in the solar potential analysis is performed utilizing aerial imagery, LiDAR data, and satellite imagery. However, in the existing studies using satellite data, parameters such as trees/ vegetation shadow, adjacent higher architectural structures, and eccentric roof structures in urban areas were not considered, and relatively coarser-resolution datasets were used for analysis. In this work, we have implemented a novel approach to estimate rooftop solar potential using inputs of high-resolution satellite imagery (0.5 cm), a digital elevation model (1m), along with ground station radiation data. Solar radiation analysis is performed using the diffusion proportion and transmissivity ratio derived from the ground station data hosted by IMD. It was observed that due to seasonal variations, environmental effects and technical reasons such as solar panel structure etc., there can be a significant loss of electricity generation up to 50%. Based on the results, it is also understood that using 1m DEM and 50cm satellite imagery, more authentic results are produced over the urban areas.