“MORE ENERGY FROM THE SUN LANDS ON THE FACE OF THE EARTH IN JUST ONE HOUR THAN THE ENTIRE GLOBAL POPULATION USES IN ONE YEAR.”
-Climate Reality
The technology of solar power generation has advanced to a point where it is feasible to be applied not only on large scale commercial operations but at the individual level as well. Solar potential modeling and mapping are increasingly important in the assessment of renewable energy utilization capacity and application for local producers and communities. Research has been done using GIS to analyzes solar potential all over the world, including in Canada, Europe and the United States (Verso et al., 2015; Gadsden et al., 2003; Payne et al., 2001). I got inspired by a project done in North Vancouver, the solar calculation tool on GEOweb. It visualizes and calculate solar energy potential for residential houses using LiDAR-based solar mapping. It is a powerful tool that informs homeowners of their potential contribution to developing a sustainable community. Therefore, I would like to emulate the project and apply it to the community I am living in, Surrey.
In 2010, Surrey was selected to be one of a Solar BC Solar Communities and it committed to develop the market for Solar Hot Water system. Analysis on solar energy potential, however, is lacking. In this project, I explored the potential of generating energy from rooftop solar panels in Cloverdale, City of Surrey. This project consists of two parts. The first part is the creation of a solar map. It is to model and visualize the amount of solar energy that can be received at various locations in Cloverdale. The second half is to produce a suitability map that can help determine the ideal locations for solar panels installation for solar hot water system and photovoltaic (PV) system.
References
Verso, A., Martin, A., Amador, J., & Dominguez, J. (2015). GIS-based method to evaluate the photovoltaic potential in the urban environments: The particular case of miraflores de la sierra. Solar Energy, 117, 236-245. doi:10.1016/j.solener.2015.04.018
Gadsden, S., Rylatt, M., & Lomas, K. (2003). Putting solar energy on the urban map: A new GIS-based approach for dwellings. Solar Energy, 74(5), 397-407. doi:10.1016/S0038-092X(03)00190-7
Payne, A., Duke, R., & Williams, R. H. (2001). Accelerating residential PV expansion: Supply analysis for competitive electricity markets. Energy Policy, 29(10), 787-800. doi:10.1016/S0301-4215(01)00014-3