Solar potential analysis over Indian cities using high-resolution satellite imagery and DEM

TL;DR

This paper presents a high-resolution satellite imagery and DEM-based method for accurate rooftop solar potential estimation in Indian cities, accounting for shadows and structural complexities often overlooked in prior studies.

Contribution

It introduces a novel approach utilizing 0.5 cm satellite imagery and 1m DEM for detailed solar potential analysis considering urban shadows and structures.

Findings

Seasonal and environmental factors can cause up to 50% loss in solar energy generation.

High-resolution data improves the accuracy of rooftop solar potential estimates.

Using 1m DEM and 50cm imagery yields more reliable results in urban areas.

Abstract

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.