Impacts of aerosols on available solar energy at Mbour, Senegal

This study aims to evaluate the available solar potential (direct normal on the overall horizontal plane) and to estimate the observed impact of aerosols on solar radiation at Mbour, Senegal (16.958 °W; 14. 394 °N) using observations from solar instruments and AERONET during 2006. The results show t...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journal of renewable and sustainable energy 2012-01, Vol.4 (1), p.013105-013105-12
Main Authors: Drame, Mamadou, Ould Bilal, Boudy, Camara, Moctar, Sambou, Vincent, Gaye, Amadou
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Aerosols
Case studies
Clouds
Diurnal variations
dry season
Optical analysis
Rainy season
Solar energy
Solar radiation
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Summary:This study aims to evaluate the available solar potential (direct normal on the overall horizontal plane) and to estimate the observed impact of aerosols on solar radiation at Mbour, Senegal (16.958 °W; 14. 394 °N) using observations from solar instruments and AERONET during 2006. The results show the presence of a good available solar potential. At intra-seasonal timescale, the total and direct normal energy are stronger in May with a mean value of 7 kWh/m2/day and February with an average value of 5.50 kWh/m2/day. The lower available total and direct normal solar energies are, respectively, found in August (5.31 kWh/m2/day) and July (2.90 kWh/m2/day). The observations of AERONET show that aerosol optical depth values are higher in June (0.7) and lower in February (0.16). These results are consistent with the observed trends of total and direct normal energy during those months. Case studies of the influence of aerosols on available solar energy show a mean decrease of 10% and 28%, respectively, for the total and direct normal energies. This decrease does not vary much from the rainy season to the dry season, but there is a strong diurnal fluctuation in the rainy season probably due to the presence of cloud droplets.
ISSN:1941-7012
1941-7012
DOI:10.1063/1.3682078