Transcript
ISABEL NETO: Yes, generally speaking there are some regions of the world where, as you are saying are no brainers where you see that intensity of the sun is higher than in other regions. But generally, at the end of the day these solar map helps you assess the specific potential of particular sites. So rather than just saying it’s a good region or not you assess exactly what type of output you would be able to get in specific location. And that is actually a combination, not only of the radiation, irradiation, it’s also the temperatures in the specific location which can actually be vary quite a lot from location to location. So there maps actually help to determine where the resolution or around 1km what will be the solar output that you can expect from facilities to be installed in that particular location.
DON WISEMAN: So with the information you have from the maps that you have, does that show up some remarkable information in terms of the best places?
IN: The way you use the information is you have to determine the best location. But more than just the best location for a particular investor to be able to assess the type of output they would be getting from a particular solar farm. So yes, on one hand it helps to find the location but it also helps do your investment plan in terms of saying ‘it will cost me this much for a solar farm and I know I will be able to produce a certain amount of energy out of it’. Then, therefore you can do your cost benefit analysis and come up within a proposed tariff which you can charge for the energy you will be selling. So that’s really the use of those maps. Typically when someone doesn’t know what type of radiation that there is in a particular location they will be able to propose a tariff that covers for a certain level of risk. In the eventuality that the output tends to be lower than what they thought it would be. The fact that you have solar data by leaning out the risk for this private developer would be lower and as a consequence the type of tariff the private is able to offer, will also be lower. So this basically means that the benefit for the country is that is basically means that we can expect lower tariffs proposed for solar generation.
DW: How do you acquire the information?
FP: Basically, the exercise is done in three phases. So what we’ve done now is to prepare these maps that are based on satellite data, on full atmospheric and meteorological data. And you then develop a model that takes into account that data to predict the radiation you will have in particular locations. You then develop a model that takes into account that data to predict the radiation you will get in the particular locations. At this stage these maps have been developed with all of these [things] that I have just mentioned. They are, I would say accurate as it can get. But before doing any particular measurements on particular sites, this is what we call phase one. So under phase one you get satellite data, atmospheric data, and meteorological data to produce the maps. What we are going to do next, and we have already started doing in a number of countries, is to then install particular measurement stations that will take measurements during two years and after that you will then be able to further calibrate the maps so that they become even more accurate.
DW: You’ve launched at the Pacific’s Power Association’s conference. What sort of interest is there in it?
IN: I think the countries, specifically the utilities with whom with discussed and presented the actual maps. They were quite interested in this research. So, basically as of now we have prepared solar maps and there are also wind maps coming. They’ll be available, I believe in November. I think all the utilities are quite excited about it. They’re also looking forward to having measurements on particular sites so that they can further make them available to private developers.
DW: As I say released at the Pacific’s Power Association’s conference, but what about someone who wasn’t there? A member of the general public if they wanted to know about this information, is there any way they could find out?
IN: So all the information is publicly available, there’s a website – globalsolaratlas.info. Where all the maps are. So all the maps can be downloaded – you can look at a specific time series. So the general public, private investors, governments, everybody can have access to the site and actually I think this is one of the biggest values of this site – as it becomes public knowledge is very useful for everybody, so it has become a global good. We are finding a lot of interest in this. Since the launch the site has already been visited by 65,000 people so it’s generating a lot of interest.
